Broken Chains Sequel to Robbed
by UltimateGotenFan
Summary: With the birth of Goten's son and Gohan's new daughter a new story begins. Picks up where Robbed ended. The Story focuses mostly on Goten's son and Gohan's daughter, but both the Son and Brief families play major roles.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** After the flattering success of Robbed I decided I would continue with a sequel. Seriously I want to thank all of my fans because you guys really inspired me to write as best as I could on that story. I wanted to please you all so much and I always looked forward to your reviews. I hope the sequel is just as exciting and I hope it captures your attention and keeps you guessing to the very end just like Robbed did. I should point out that this story picks up right where Robbed ended. Might as well get the disclaimer out of the way: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT and all related characters are property of their respective owners, and this story is simply for the pleasure of Dragon Ball Z fans everywhere. Enjoy the story everyone!

**Prologue:**

_They say time heals all wounds. I hate to disappoint all the optimist out there, but from my experience I highly doubt that's true. Before we delve into my life philosophy let me tell you my story first. My name is Son Goten. You probably wouldn't believe it but my dad is actually an alien from another planet. What's even more incredible is that my dad is the strongest man in the whole universe. I'm proud to be his son. Sometimes I wonder if he knows just how proud I am. He says he's not perfect and maybe that's true, but he's my hero and for years he has been my support and that's good enough for me._

_Well enough of about that. I suppose what you all really want to know is how I got to this point in my life. When I was 15 years old a tragedy struck my high school. A female student had been raped and police were interrogating every male student. I knew I had nothing to do with the crime and went along with the investigation so they could get to work finding the real culprit. To cut to the chase the police compared the victim's sketch of her attacker to my face and to my surprise there was a match. I found myself in a jail cell, a place I never thought I would be in. My mom was freaking out, her heart breaking. My dad, being the loyal knight of order and peace wanted me to get out of this mess legally. So I remained in jail for a couple of weeks believing that I would be proven innocent at my trial._

_The trial came and all seemed to be going in my favor until to everyone's surprise the prosecution pulled out of nowhere DNA evidence that seemed to connect me to the crime. Convinced I was a monster the jury sentenced me to prison. Needless to say I was afraid but my father insisted he would find a way to get me out legally. I kept that hope alive but as the years went on that hope died and though I could have escaped at anytime I had just lost the will to try, its like my mind was shut out from the world._

_15 years went by and I missed so much. No graduation, no prom, no dating or finding a wife, no college, and I missed my beautiful niece's birth. At the age of 30 I found myself in court once again but this time I was finally set free. Turns out the DNA results were mishandled. I was robbed of the best years of my life all because of the incompetence of some scientists. It goes without saying I was consumed by pain, anger, and hatred._

_Nightmares filled my sleep for a long time, even to this day I have them once in awhile. Back at home things seemed to be better. I was finally with my family and friends again, then she came into my life. My mate, my wife, the mother of my newborn. Sure it wasn't easy for us to get to this point. In fact she hurt me, she hurt me more than anyone ever has but I couldn't help but love her and standing where I am today I don't regret it, I can't regret loving her. Like I said before I don't think time heals all wounds…I think love is what truly heals our wounds. But enough of everything that was robbed from me. It's time to focus on the future._

(Note: For those of you who have not read the first story Robbed, I would suggest you read it since there are references made back to it through out this story.)

**The Story Continues:**

Goten stood at the hospital door watching Roza cradling their newborn. "All that was robbed from me has been restored more than I ever imagined, and they're right in front of me." He whispered to himself.

Roza jerked her head up and smiled at her husband, "Are you okay? You ran out of the room crying."

Goten nodded, "Roza, I'm felling a lot better than I have in a long time. For the first time in years I feel free from the pain and the anger."

Roza looked at her son sleeping in her arm, "Well it's like they say, a baby changes everything."

Goten walked over to the hospital bed and wrapped his arms around his mate. He looked compassionately at his sleeping baby boy and smiled with pride, "Our little Kakarot."

Roza kissed Goten's hand, "I think that name is so appropriate. Your dad really was our rock. He really helped you deal with the heart ache. He loved me like a daughter even after all of my mistakes. He really brought us to this moment. It's only right we name our son after him."

"Well that's my dad. He's unlike anyone else in the whole universe and his heart is so pure." Goten said with pride.

Kakarot wiggled in his mother's arms and awoke gently to the faces of his parents. The small infant smiled softly and wrapped his monkey tail around his mother's arm.

"Aw that's so sweet." Roza said and gave her son a kiss on the head.

Goten examined little Kakarot's hair, "It looks just like dad's hair when he goes super saiyan except little Kakarot's hair is black."

"Yeah no kidding!" Goku said as he sneaked into the room.

Goku kneeled next to the hospital bed and stared at his new grandson in Roza's arms.

Goku gently rubbed his grandson's spiky hair, "Hey there little fellow! I'm your grandpa Goku!"

Kakarot looked up at his grandfather curiously, giggled and then reach his hands toward Goku. Roza giggled and handed her son to his grandpa.

Goku tickled the infant's tummy causing the happy baby to giggle loudly, "He is so precious! You can tail he's a real saiyan from the top of his spiky hair to the tip of his tail!"

Roza sighed sarcastically, "I bet he eats like a real saiyan too which means I'm going to have a lot of cooking to do."

Goten grinned, "You can't blame it all on Kakarot and I. You're a full blooded saiyan so you eat just as much as I do, maybe more."

Roza clenched her fist, "If I wasn't so exhausted from giving birth I would punch you for that but this time I'll let you off easy."

Goku laughed, "Uh oh you better watch it, son. If you want peace in the home it is best to keep your wife happy. Trust me I know."

"Oh really Goku?" Chi-Chi said as she sneaked behind him.

"I didn't mean it, Chi-Chi!" Goku tried to defend himself.

Chi-Chi smiled, "Oh calm down. I'm too happy to be mad at you. Now let me see my grandbaby."

She took Kakarot from Goku's arms and held her new grandchild, "Hi there little one. I'm your grandmother." She whispered to him in a gentle whisper.

Kakarot yawned and smiled at his grandma. He cuddled up in her arms and snuggled his head against her chest.

"Aw how sweet. He's a cuddling little boy just like his daddy." Chi-Chi remarked.

Goten blushed, "Mom, shut up."

Roza giggled, "Oh honey I already know you're the cuddling type. I sleep with you and every night in your sleep you role over and cuddle me close to you like the baby you are. But that's okay. I may be a saiyan but I love feeling the strong arms of my mate wrapped around me, holding me close to his chest, and knowing he'll always protect me."

Goten blushed even more and Chi-Chi smiled, "That's so romantic. My little boy has grown up to be such a Romeo." She said.

"Hey Chi-Chi, where is Gohan, Videl, Pan, Bulma, and her family?" Goku asked.

"Oh they're downstairs in cafeteria getting some lunch. They knew Goten would probably want some time alone with Roza and little Kakarot." She answered.

Goku licked his lips, "Cafeteria? You don't say huh? Well why don't I go get them then."

Chi-Chi handed the sleeping Kakarot to Goten and then grabbed Goku's ear, "Not so fast! You can eat later. Bring them up here and get Roza and Goten something to eat. I'm sure Roza is hungry after giving birth."

Roza smiled, "Oh you don't have to do that." Then her stomach growled, "On second thought maybe a little food would be nice."

Goku nodded and rushed down the stairs. Chi-Chi thought he might try to stay for his own lunch so she followed him.

"This is so nice. Having a baby, having a family here to celebrate our son's birth." Roza whispered just enough to where Goten heard her.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "For the longest time I didn't think I'd ever get to experience this day. I'm so happy I'm a father and that you're my wife and our baby's mother. I love you, Roza. Don't you ever forget that."

She rested her head on his shoulder, "Thank you for loving me when you had every reason to hate me. Thank you for giving me your love and a family I belong to."

Downstairs Goku sneaked into the cafeteria to try and grab himself some lunch but Chi-Chi quickly stopped him. She was tapping her foot on the ground and looked very angry.

"Goku, you're unbelievable! Your youngest son and his wife who just gave birth are upstairs hungry and all you can think about is your own stomach!" Chi-Chi yelled at him.

Goku backed away sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I was just grabbing a little snack for myself."

She shook her head, "No way Goku! Fix a plate of food for the new parents and take it up to their room then you can come back and eat as much as you want."

Goku did as his wife said and made a plate of food for Goten and for Roza. Chi-Chi stepped over to the table where her family and the Briefs family were eating.

"Hey mom! How is Roza and the baby doing?" Gohan asked.

"They're both tired and hungry but mom and child are doing just fine." Chi-Chi responded.

Pan took a sip of soda, "That means little Kakarot and I are cousins, right?" She asked without raising her head.

Chi-Chi nodded, "Yes that's right, sweetheart."

Chi-Chi motioned for Gohan to follow her into the hall. He did as she said and looked concerned.

"Is something wrong, mother?" He asked.

Chi-Chi looked down and then back up at her oldest child, "Well you tell me. Is Pan okay? I mean after the rape I know she hasn't been the same but she seems to be getting worse."

Gohan looked down, "To be honest she just seems to be getting worse. I don't know what to do, mom. How can I help her? I think she blames herself for Goten getting sent to prison a second time."

Chi-Chi looked shocked, "She does! Gohan, you need to help her understand that no one blames her. If she needs help or needs anything at all she needs to be honest and just ask."

"I know. I'll talk to her when we get back home." Gohan promised her.

Back at the table Vegeta was very slowly eating his food, "Why am I here exactly, woman?" He questioned.

Bulma sighed, "I told you, Vegeta. Goku's family is basically like our own family and families stick together. I think it was only right we were here with them."

Vegeta scoffed, "Sentimental rubbish. That's all this is."

Bulma was about to say something back to Vegeta when she notice Videl looked sick.

"Videl, are you okay?" Bulma asked.

Videl was breathing heavy and sweating a lot, "I don't feel normal. My stomach hurts. If I didn't know any better I would think I was…AAAAH!" She yelled.

Gohan, Chi-Chi, and Goku rushed over to her. Gohan took his wife in his arms and was shocked at what he saw, "Her water broke!" He said completely taken back.

"Her what! But that means she's pregnant!" Chi-Chi said in shock.

"But how? I mean I didn't even know she was pregnant and she hasn't shown any signs of being pregnant." Gohan said.

Videl screamed, "I can't believe this….I'm pregnant…Aaaahh!" She yelled again.

"Get a doctor! She's in labor!" Gohan ordered.

The doctors in the cafeteria jumped from their tables and rushed to help the daughter of Hercule. Some nurses rushed to get a stretcher and Gohan gently placed his pregnant wife on it and followed the doctors to the delivery room. On the way there they rushed passed Roza's room sending a gust of wind through the doorway which woke baby Kakarot.

"Hush now little one. Momma is right here, baby." Roza tried to calm her crying newborn.

Goten looked confused, "Was that Videl on a stretcher and Gohan with her?"

Roza got Kakarot to calm down and looked at Goten, "It couldn't be. Videl isn't sick. Why would she be on a stretcher?"

Goku ran into the room out of breath, "This is why Chi-Chi should have let me eat. Now I'm tired."

"Dad what in the world is going on?" The young saiyan hybrid asked.

Goku looked at Goten and answered, "Vide is having a baby!" He said still finding it hard to believe himself.

Roza's eyes widened, "What! Why didn't anyone tell us she was pregnant!"

"No one knew not even Videl until she started going into labor downstairs in the cafeteria." He answered.

"You're kidding me! This is nuts, two babies born in this family on the same day!" Goten commented.

Roza looked concerned, "Goku she hasn't shown any sign of being pregnant lately."

Bulma stepped into the room and explained, "It's rare but not impossible for a woman to be pregnant and never even know it until she gives birth. That isn't what worries me. What worries me is that more than likely her baby is going to be premature and I don't think I need to explain what that means."

Everyone looked horrified, "You mean her baby could die?" Goten asked sadly already knowing the answer.

"The chances are higher than normal. All we can do is pray, you guys." Bulma told them.

Praying was exactly what everyone was doing. Even Vegeta couldn't help but let his concern for the girl and her soon to be born child show. It wasn't more than an hour that they would get the answer to their prayers.

Gohan came out holding a very small baby girl in his arms. She was cuddled in up in a pink blanket in her father's arms. Gohan gave everyone a reassuring smile.

"The doctors said she was born premature but that with the proper care she is going to be just fine. They want to get her to an incubator to get her warm." Gohan explained to everyone.

Goku and Chi-Chi gathered around Gohan and looked at their very small granddaughter, "She is so tiny. Poor baby she has had it rough." Chi-Chi gently kissed her tiny head.

"I'm just so glad she's alright. I was worried I was going to lose her and Videl." Gohan said never taking his eyes off his precious new daughter.

Goten patted his older brother's back and asked, "How is Videl?"

Gohan looked at his brother and answered, "Very tired but she's okay."

"Thank God. Roza will be happy to know everything is fine." Goten said as he took a sigh of relief.

Goku, Chi-Chi, and Pan went to watch over Videl. Bulma and her family checked on her and Roza before heading home. Goten returned to Roza's room to inform her of the good news.

"Is everything alright, Goten?" Roza asked nearly asleep and holding her sleeping son.

Goten smiled softly, "Yeah. Videl had a baby girl. They say both Videl and the baby will be just fine."

Goten took little sleeping Kakarot into his arms and sat next to his tired wife, "What a day, huh?"

She nodded, "I'm glad everything turned out okay. Now we have two new members of the family."

Goten stood up and laid his newborn in a crib provided by the hospital. The new father grabbed a blanket out of the cabinet and cuddled up in the chair.

Goten leaned over to kiss his mate goodnight but she was already asleep. Goten smiled and soon fell asleep himself.

In a special ICU nursery Gohan watched his new daughter sleeping peacefully in an incubator. The saiyan hybrid placed his hand on the incubator and closed his eyes.

"Sleep well my little angel. Daddy is right her with you." He whispered to her.

On this night two children with saiyan and human blood, two cousins, have been born. Little did anyone know how close their destines were tied to each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I'm really excited about this story. I've been throwing ideas around in my head since I finished Robbed. So here is chapter 2. Enjoy and review everyone!

Videl was completely exhausted. Her eyes grew heavy and tired and all she wanted to do was fall asleep. But her concern for her newborn daughter as well as her oldest daughter kept her awake.

"Is there anything we can do for you, Videl?" Goku asked softly.

Videl shook her head, "No thank you. I just want to make sure my baby is alright."

"Gohan is with her. She'll be just fine." Goku smiled.

Chi-Chi looked at Pan and smiled, "Isn't this exciting, Pan? You have a new baby sister!"

Pan continued to look at the ground and sighed, "I suppose."

Videl looked concerned, "Goku…Chi-Chi…can you give Pan and I a moment?"

Goku nodded and took his wife and left the room. Pan sighed again knowing her mother was about to ask her if she was okay and what was bothering her. Questions she didn't feel like answering.

"Come here, Pan. Talk to me, sweetheart. I'm your mom, you know I love you Pan, and you know everyone is worried about you. Please talk to me." Videl pleaded.

Pan walked over and sat in the chair next to her bed. Videl took her daughter's hand in her own and said, "Pan, you're my baby too. I love you so much."

Pan shook her head, "You think what you're doing is going to make me feel better?"

"What do you mean?" Videl asked.

Pan sighed, "The whole concerned mother thing. Listen I know you and dad and the whole family mean well but none of you understand."

"We can try to understand…if you let us." Videl told her softly.

Pan attempted to explain her feelings to her mother, "I was raped, mom. My innocence is gone…do you know what that is going to be like when I meet someone I really love and want to be with? My first time was ruined and I can never get that back. It just isn't fair." Tears escaped her eyes.

Videl pulled her daughter into a hug, "I know, sweetheart. It wasn't fair. You have to know that when you meet the right guy he will love you regardless of what happened to you."

Pan shook her head, "You don't get it. It still wont be the same. When you first make love with someone it should be a special moment but I will never get to have that. I have to miss out on what you, grandma, Roza, and every other girl I know got to experience. That special first night with the man who will be my mate, my husband, the father of my kids. It makes me so angry knowing I've lost that chance that I just want to hurt someone."

Videl could see that the way Pan was going it was nothing but a decline down hill. What could she say or do to fix this. How could she make things right for Pan? She'd do anything to make this right again.

"But it's okay." Pan said.

Videl was stunned by what she just heard, "What!"

"I deserve what I got. I sent uncle Goten to prison a second time. It was my fault that daddy beat him up. I hurt my uncle. I deserve this. I deserve to not be able to enjoy romance. I have to be punished some way for what I did." Pan explained.

Videl shook her head and felt the tears make their way down her cheeks, "Pan…no one thinks that. Honey, Goten isn't mad at you. He adores you. The only one to blame for what happened is Ryo. You shouldn't beat yourself up over what happened."

Pan moved away from her mother, "Sorry mom. I just can't do that. Like I said I'm angry and I want to hurt someone so it might as well be me."

Videl quickly responded to that, "Pan, you better not do anything to hurt yourself! I mean it!" Videl ordered but suddenly felt the exhaustion hit her again.

Pan began to walk out the door, "Don't worry about me, mom. Just get your rest."

Pan tried to avoid her grandparents as she attempted to make her way outside but Goku grabbed her shoulder and asked, "Pan, where are you going?"

Pan clenched her fist, "Grandpa, let me go right now."

Goku shook his head, "No. I heard you arguing with your mother and there is no way I'm letting you go outside alone."

She turned around and looked in his eyes, "I'm not going to do anything while my mother is recovering from giving birth. So don't worry. I just want to go outside so I can clear my head."

Goku believed her and let her go, "I love you, Pan." Goku told her as she left.

Chi-Chi wrapped her arms around Goku's waist and rested her head on his back, "What are we going to do to help her, Goku?"

Goku closed his eyes and sighed, "We'll figure something out, Chi-Chi. For now lets just make sure Videl is okay."

The two concerned in laws entered Videl's room with Goku taking a seat next to her bed and wrapping her blanket around her, "Videl, try not to worry too much about Pan right now. You need to rest."

Videl could feel herself wanting to cry again but held the tears back, "She's my baby, Goku. I can't stop worrying about her when I know she is so confused and hurting inside. I have to help her somehow."

Goku nodded, "But you can't help her if you don't help yourself first and the best thing for you is to rest right now. Don't worry about your new daughter either. Gohan is with her and everything is going to be just fine."

Videl cuddled up in her blanket, "I hope you're right."

Goten was sleeping peacefully cuddled up in his blanket when he heard the cries of his son waking him up. Goten rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the clock to see it a little pass midnight. The new father stood up and stretched his arms out before making his way to the crib where his newborn lay crying. Goten picked up the baby and smiled gently.

"What's wrong, little guy? Are you hungry? You want daddy to get you some milk?" Goten said loving every second of this, of holding his son and being able to call himself a father.

Goten took a sniff of little Kakarot and his face quickly turned sour, "Oh that's what is wrong. Yeah you definitely got a stinky one. You sure can tell you're a saiyan baby." Goten joked.

"Well lets get you all nice and cleaned up." Goten said as he gently placed his son on the table and pulled off the dirty diaper.

He cleaned his baby bottom and put the baby powder on gently. Last but not least he put a new clean diaper on his son and picked the child up and hugged him close.

Goten looked in his son's eyes and whispered, "Daddy loves you, little Kakarot. Look, kid I missed out on a lot of good things in life. For awhile I didn't think I'd ever get to be a father but I have to say it feels really nice being a dad. I want you to know that I promise I will always love you and I'll never let anyone hurt you like I was hurt."

Goten sat down and rocked Kakarot in his arms, "I can't wait to see what type of man you'll become. I can't wait to celebrate your birthdays, I can't wait to see you get married, and have kids of your own, and all the good things life you can enjoy."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself there?" Roza said softly.

Goten turned to his wife and blushed, "You heard all of that?"

She nodded, "Yeah. You're going to be an amazing dad, Goten. You don't want our son growing up too fast, do you?"

Goten chuckled a little, "Maybe I am getting a little carried away. I'm just so happy. I have a beautiful wife who loves me, and an adorable baby boy. I'm a husband and a father and it makes me feel so complete now."

Roza took his hand in her own and kissed it, "Goten…you and our baby is everything I'll ever want or need."

"I love you." Goten whispered to both his wife and son.

"And I love you." She whispered back to her mate.

Goten smirked, "Lets make another baby." He said jokingly.

Roza gripped his arm, "Maybe one day, tiger. Right now I'm too tired to tango even if you are the cutest guy in the universe." Roza smiled.

Goten kissed her forehead and whispered, "Sleep well my angel."

Gohan sat next the incubator that kept his newborn daughter warm and watched her carefully, "She looks so vulnerable. I wish I could hold her."

The doctor walked by and said, "I think she is going to be okay. Its alright if you want to take her back to Videl's room now."

Gohan smiled, "Thank you, doctor."

Gohan took his new daughter out of the incubator and wrapped her in a pink blanket. Instantly sensing her father's presence the child snuggled up to his chest and felt more relaxed than she had in the incubator. Gohan smiled and kissed the tiny infant. He walked back to Videl's room and everyone smiled when they saw the precious baby he held.

Videl took her baby into her warm arms and looked into her precious baby girl's eyes, "Hi baby, I'm your mommy. You came as a surprise didn't you? But that is okay, because mommy and daddy are so happy you're here and we are going to love you forever."

Goku and Chi-Chi admired their new granddaughter and finally Goku asked the question, "What are you two planning to name her?"

Gohan smiled, "Videl and I had two names picked out when Pan was born. Of course Pan was the name we chose for her."

"So for our new baby girl we decided to name her Cheena." Videl finished.

Chi-Chi smiled, "I think that is a beautiful name. Little Cheena."

"We better go home so you two can have some alone time with the baby. Besides its late and Pan needs to get in bed." Goku told his son.

Gohan hugged his mother and father, "Thank you for watching over Videl. Dad, please if you don't mind would you talk to Pan tonight."

Goku nodded, "Of course, son."

When Goku and Chi-Chi were gone Gohan sat next to his wife's bed and let his daughter wrap her tiny tail around his pinky. "She's beautiful, Videl. Just like her mother."

Videl smiled, "She's strong just like her daddy."

"You're pretty strong yourself, honey." Gohan told her.

Videl smiled but at the same time a tear escaped her left eye. Gohan noticed it and asked, "Something wrong? Is it Pan?"

Videl nodded, "I don't know what to do, Gohan."

Gohan brushed her hair out of her face, "We love her like we always have."

"I know Gohan, she knows how much we love her. I just don't think that will be enough." Videl told him.

"What do you mean?" He asked worriedly.

Videl sighed, "She told me she resents that she'll never get to experience her first time with someone she really loves, and she said she blames herself for Goten going to prison a second time."

Gohan looked down in shame, "That wasn't her fault…if anything it was my fault. My poor Pan, she must feel so much anger and confusion."

Videl nodded, "Yeah, but we'll figure this out when we get back home. Right now we have another daughter to focus on."

Gohan tried to smile, "You're right." Gohan leaned down and kissed Cheena, "Sweet dreams, my little princess."

In the next chapter everyone will return home. What twist and turns await them next?


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I decided to put the characters involved in this as Goten and Gohan since the story does focus on their sides of the Son family. I hope you enjoy this chapter everyone and review!

While the new sets of parents were spending the night with their newborns in the hospital, Goku, Chi-Chi, and Pan returned home. Goku and Chi-Chi were getting ready for bed. Goku changed into a loose white t-shirt and a loose pair of shorts, Chi-Chi of course was wearing one of her comfortable gowns. As Chi-Chi brushed her teeth she couldn't help but worry about Pan.

"Goku, do you mind checking on Pan and making sure she is alright?" Chi-Chi asked.

Goku got up from bed and nodded, "Sure. I told Gohan I would talk to her anyways."

He made his way down the hall and knocked on the door of Gohan's old room where Pan was sleeping tonight, "Pan, it's grandpa. Can we talk?"

There was no response so Goku began to turn the doorknob, "Pan?"

As he looked into the dark room he noticed Pan quickly pulling her sleeves down which seemed odd to Goku.

"Hi Grandpa." Pan said nervously.

Goku stepped into the room and stood behind Pan, "Why are you wearing long sleeves to bed? You'll burn up like that." He tried saying cheerfully.

Pan shook her head, "I'm fine. I'm cold natured anyways. What did you want, Grandpa?"

Goku sat down next to bed and seemed puzzled when she turned slight so he couldn't see her lower arms, "Your dad wanted me to talk to you. You know we love you, Pan. Your whole family cares about you so much. So you can talk to us about what Ryo did to you."

Pan sighed, "Grandpa…please, I know you all love me and I know you all mean well but I don't think I'll ever get over this."

Goku rubbed her shoulder, "No one is expecting you to get over it. No one can get over something like that completely. Trust me I know, Pan. Ryo's mother did the same thing to me. I kept it a secret for decades because I thought everyone would hate me. I thought Chi-Chi would leave me and I thought Goten and Gohan would think I betrayed their mother. I don't want you to keep all of what you're feeling inside because I know how it can eat away at you."

Pan gripped her fist, "Just shut up…please…"

Goku could see the wall his granddaughter was trying to put around herself and knew that it would only make things worst, "No Pan. I'm not going away. You're my grandbaby and I'm not leaving you to hurt like this."

"Why can't you see that this is what I deserve!" Pan said almost yelling

Goku looked surprised, "Is it because of what happened to Goten after you were raped? Pan, you're not to blame for that. You can't beat yourself up over that. I don't blame you, Goten doesn't blame you, no one blames you for that. You were a victim too, Pan. You need to stop treating yourself like the bad guy here."

Pan shook her head as tears started to escape her eyes, "You just don't get it, Grandpa. My mother told me that Goten told her that when he went back to prison for the second time that two criminals were mocking what happened to me and Goten was so angry at them that he almost killed them. Even after what I did to him, after I was the one who sent him back to prison, he still defended my dignity."

Pan began to shiver, "How could I do what I did to him? He stood up for me. When he met me the first time he was so gentle and sweet to me. Yet like a stupid selfish little child I believed him to be the one who raped me when I should have known better. I know Ryo looked exactly like Goten but still I should have known that Goten wasn't even capable of doing what Ryo did."

Goku put his arms around his crying granddaughter and held her close, "It's okay sweetheart, cry and let it out. Don't you see, Pan? This is what Ryo wanted. He wanted to divide and ruin our family. You can't blame yourself. You're not the one who caused all of that, it was Ryo. You have to realize your just as much the victim as Goten was, and it's okay to cry and let people help you."

Goku moved his hand down and felt something wet and warm on her arm. When he moved his hand back up he found blood on it. He looked over her shoulder and saw her sleeves were stained with patches of blood.

"Pan…what is wrong with your arms?" He asked concerned.

Pan stood up and stepped away, "Nothing I just scratched them against the edge of the door."

"Both of them? That is kind of unlikely, isn't it?" He asked knowing she was lying.

She turned her head to the side and looked at the floor as Goku raised her sleeves to find deep cuts on her arm. Goku looked down in sadness, "You've been cutting yourself."

She never took her eyes off the ground, "Like I said, I deserve to be punished for what I did."

Goku shook his head and quickly grabbed some tissues to start cleaning the blood from her wounds, "Pan, how long have you been doing this?"

Pan bit her lip, "Since not too long after we found out Ryo raped me and not Goten."

Goku's eyes widened in horror, "You mean you've been doing this for months now? Oh Pan…why didn't you tell us?"

"I knew you guys would try to stop me." She answered truthfully.

Goku looked at her, "Well of course we would have stopped you. No decent family would let you do this to yourself."

Pan sighed, "But I deserve it."

That is when Goku noticed different markings on her arms. Small little dots that looked like something had been injected. Suddenly the worst scenario came to mind and he had to ask, "Pan…have you been doing drugs?" He said hoping she would say no.

Pan felt her voice get caught in her throat but finally she let it slip out, "Yes…"

Goku felt his heart break for her. His beautiful, precious granddaughter was destroying her body not only with cutting but with drugs too. He had never had to deal with Goten or Gohan getting into that type of stuff and he thought he never would see the day one of his grandchildren would do it either. But now he had to swallow the fact his precious Pan had been abusing drugs.

Goku couldn't help but cry, "Pan, why didn't you tell Grandpa? I would have helped you. I know it may have been hard to tell your parents but you know me, you know how I am, I wouldn't have yelled at you, I would have done everything I could to help you. I didn't know you were feeling so much hurt that you had to turn to drugs. Oh my God, how can this be happening to my grandchild?" He asked himself.

Pan saw the hurt in his eyes and cried, "Grandpa, I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to find out about this."

Goku took her into his arms and held her close, "Sweetheart, please don't do this anymore. Please Pan, I can't stand seeing this. It breaks my heart. I love you so much and you're too good a person to be a drug addict. Please Pan, I wont tell your mom and dad if you promise me you will never ever use drugs ever again…please Pan." He begged.

Pan nodded and cuddled her face in her grandpa's chest, "I'm so sorry…I promise I wont do it anymore. I just…I feel so many things inside. I feel hurt, sad, angry at myself, and I just want to hurt and destroy but I can't do it to someone else so I just wanted to hurt myself."

Goku rocked her gently in his arms, "I know, Pan. Whenever you start to feel that way from now on you come to Grandpa and I will do whatever I can to make you happy, okay?"

Pan nodded, "Okay Grandpa."

Goku held her for about 30 minutes more until she finally cried herself to sleep. He removed her long sleeve shirt and noticed she had lost so much weight that her ribs were starting to show. He slipped one of her gowns over her. Then he laid her in bed and wrapped the blanket around her before kissing her goodnight. He made his way back to his own room to find Chi-Chi already asleep. Goku slid in beside her and thought about what he just went through with Pan.

"Should I tell Gohan and Videl about this? No, I promised Pan I wouldn't. Besides as long as she never does drugs again then it will be fine, right? I hope so." He kept telling himself as he slowly drifted into sleep.

The next few days Goku kept an eye on Pan to make sure she wasn't doing anything to hurt herself, from what he saw she seemed to be keeping her promise to stop harming herself. Goku would talk with her at night and they would hang out, watch TV, or have late night parties where they would stay up and eat Pizza. It wasn't too long before Pan was able to smile again.

By the end of the week Videl, Roza, and their babies were released from the hospital and Goten and Gohan brought them back home. Gohan was taken by surprise when Pan ran up to him and gave him a tight hug.

"Hey Pan, how are you doing? I missed you sweetheart." He told her as he returned to act of affection.

"I missed you too, Papa and Momma." Pan said and then tickled her new baby sister a little, "Hi there! Welcome home, Cheena!" The baby girl smiled at her big sister.

"Come on Momma, I'll help you into the house." Pan said eagerly leading her mother inside their home.

Gohan looked at Goku and asked, "So I'm guessing you talked to her?"

Goku nodded and smiled, "Yeah. She and I hung out like we were both kids! I had just as much fun as she did!"

Gohan smiled, "Thank you, dad."

"What are grandpas for son?" Goku said proudly.

"Speaking of which, how are my two new grandchildren?" Goku asked smiling at the saiyan infants.

Kakarot wiggled his tail and examined his grandfather closely, "Gagagogi!" He said happily.

Cheena was a little more reserved than her cousin and stared at her grandpa for a little before simply saying, "Goo?" Then she yawned.

"Looks like someone is getting sleepy. I'm going to put her to bed." Gohan said before entering his home.

Kakarot gripped his father's shirt tightly and yawned as well, "Cheena isn't the only one wanting a nap." Goten said with a smile.

Roza yawned, "I wouldn't mind a good nap myself."

Goku nodded, "I'm sure you're all tired. You guys just rest, Chi-Chi and I can baby sit Cheena and Kakarot."

"You mean it dad? It's not too much trouble is it?" Goten asked.

Goku shook his head, "Of course not. Besides I know Chi-Chi has been wanting to spend some time with them."

Goten handed Kakarot to Goku and Roza kissed her son's cheek before telling him, "Now you be a good boy for your grandma and grandpa, okay? Mommy and daddy will see you in the morning. I love you my little super saiyan." Kakarot smiled at his mother warmly.

While Goku and Chi-Chi took the grandchildren into their home, the parents all got some well deserved rest that night. But something haunting was about to take place to one male in the family tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Decided I wanted to get some stuff about the Brief family and Gohan and Videl in this chapter but it mostly focuses on Goten. Also I'm not sure yet but I may bring this down to a T rating to get more people to notice it. Enjoy everyone and review!

Vegeta had been starring out the window watching the rain for about half an hour now. Bulma was taking a quick shower before bedtime but Vegeta's mind was far from tired, in fact it was tensely focused on a problem.

"Something doesn't feel right. Its been over two decades since the battle with Majin Buu. How have we gone this long without a serious threat to the Earth. There was that freak Ryo, but I wouldn't exactly call someone as weak as him a threat to the Earth. Something isn't right here." Vegeta thought out loud.

From behind he heard Bulma attempt to get him to relax, "Maybe there aren't anymore serious threats out there. I know you're a saiyan and you love to fight but you should be grateful that the world isn't in danger. Just come to bed and try to get some rest."

Vegeta's turned his focus to the floor and sighed, "Maybe I am just over thinking things. In any case I might as well get some sleep."

When they were cuddled in bed Bulma brought up a surprising subject, "Vegeta, do you think we'll ever be grandparents?"

Vegeta eyes widened, "What in the world made you think up a question like that?"

Bulma looked concerned, "Well its just Goten already has a wife and a baby. Gohan and Videl have two kids now. Chi-Chi has three grandchildren. I'm older than she is and Trunks still hasn't gotten married and well…I really want to be grandmother."

Vegeta sighed, "Bulma, Trunks is a smart kid. When he finds the right one he'll know. You can't force him to marry just for the sake of having grandkids."

"I know, but ever since he broke up with Marron I just don't know if he'll ever get married. Plus I'm getting old and I hate to say it but I'm not going to be around forever." Bulma admitted.

Vegeta rolled over to face his mate and kissed her, "I know I haven't said this enough but you're beautiful, Bulma. You know I love you, I may not say it everyday but I do love you. After all you're still my princess."

She smiled, "And you'll always be my prince of all saiyans. Thank you."

Vegeta cuddled her close, "Goodnight, Bulma."

Another couple far from West City was also having a conversation about family.

"How is Pan?" Videl asked her husband.

Gohan smiled, "She seems fine now."

"I'm glad. I was so happy to see her smile today." Videl said as she put her arms around Gohan's neck.

That is when she noticed something was wrong, "Gohan, is something bothering you?"

Gohan removed himself from Videl and sat on the bed, "It's nothing really…I just…I just wonder if I'm a good father or not."

"Why would you say that? Of course you're a good dad." Videl assured him.

"Am I really though? Think about it, I've been trying for months to get Pan to cheer up, to help her and comfort her. But I failed, yet when my dad tries then it only takes a few days and she is smiling again. If I can't even make my daughter happy then how can I be a good father." Gohan questioned.

Videl sat next to him and massaged his back, "Gohan, you're not being fair to yourself. I know you're doing the best you can and that is all you can do."

Gohan shook his head, "No…I can do better. I wish I could make Pan smile as easily as I did when she was a little girl. Then there is Cheena and I wonder if…"

"You wonder what?" Videl asked curiously.

"I wonder if her being born premature is my fault." He admitted.

Videl looked stunned, "Gohan, that doesn't make sense. How could that be your fault?"

Gohan turned his head from her in shame, "When I beat you…I wonder if I did something to your body that caused you to give birth to her prematurely."

Videl had a flashback of that awful night, "Gohan…You're dad gave me a senzu bean that night, I was healed. So that wouldn't have caused it."

"What if there was something I did that the senzu bean couldn't heal?" He wondered to her.

Videl shook her head, "The beans heal any physical wounds. You know that."

Gohan shook his head, "But I still did it. Lets face it, I've been a terrible husband and a bad father."

Videl felt a wave of sadness for him hit her, "Gohan…that is just not true."

"Yes it is. I'm either trying too hard to be a protective dad or I let my rage get the best of me and I hurt you. Dad may have not always been there but when he was he always knew how to make everyone happy. I could never do that. I tried so hard to make my mom smile when dad was dead but nothing ever worked. I'll never be as good a man as my dad." Gohan admitted as tears started to make their way down his cheeks.

Videl pulled him close to her and ran her fingers through his hair, "Baby, you are trying too hard to be your father. But you're not Goku, you are Gohan. You need to be Gohan. I married you because you are Gohan. You're my Gohan. And you're Pan and Cheena's daddy. I know we've had some rough spots but you still love me, right?"

Gohan nodded, "Of course I do. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my wife."

Videl kissed his neck, "And I love you. I love Son Gohan and that is all you have to be. I know Pan feels the same. When Cheena gets older I bet you she will want to be right by your side all the time because her daddy is so amazing."

"I love you, Videl." He whispered.

"I love you too, Gohan." She whispered back.

In the house near by that Goten and Goku had built together, a home made especially for Goten and his new family, the two saiyans had already drifted into sleep. Though Roza was sleeping peacefully, Goten was a different mattered. He found himself thrown into a realistic and perplexing dream.

"Is it morning yet? No, its too dark to be morning. Why is it so cold in here? Did I leave a window down or something?" Goten questioned himself.

"Just relax, Goten." Whispered a female voice.

Goten smiled warmly, "Sorry Roza, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Its okay. I'm glad I'm awake, it gives me more time alone with you." She said with a grin.

Suddenly Goten felt the soft touch of her tongue on his neck causing him to shiver with delight, "Roza, as much as I would love to make love with you right now, you just got of the hospital from having a baby. We'll do this some other time when you've recovered. Your health comes first."

She giggled, "Oh Goten, you are too serious. Stop being so cautious and lets have a little fun. I know under that sweet exterior of yours is a dark, passionate, and dare I say twisted soul that is just waiting to have some real fun."

Goten looked concerned. Roza had never spoken like that before, "Honey, are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."

She smirked, "Of course I don't sound like Roza because I'm not her."

A small glimmer of light brought the strange female's figure into view though he could not make out the details of her face. She crept down onto his bare chest and rested her head.

"Who are you! Where is my wife?" Goten attempted to sit up but found himself chained to his bed and unable to break free. "What the hell is going on?"

She placed her finger on his lips, "Hush now. Relax and enjoy what that inner saiyan inside you desires. Oh and don't worry about your wife finding out, she isn't smart enough for that. Don't think I don't know how you feel about her. She's nothing but a warm body for you to hold, nothing but a tool for you."

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing about what you're talking about. I love being her husband and I love being a father." He argued.

"Oh yes, your little brat. You were locked up for so long. Don't you think you should ditch the kid and the bitch and go out and enjoy your life? Make some mistakes and just break lose?" She tempted him.

Goten gritted his teeth, "All I need to enjoy life is Roza and my son. No let me go and tell me where my wife is, then get the hell out of my house!"

The woman was becoming annoyed by his devotion to his family, "Alright, you want to play it that way? You want to play Mr. Faithful? Well I'm a patient girl and I promise you that you'll eventually give in to your dark desires and that wife and son of yours wont matter so much anymore. Until then, here is a little present from me to you."

Gohan yelled as he felt her sharp nails dig their way deep into his chest and then the ripping of flesh as she dragged her hand across his chest and down his side. The pain was enough to cause the hybrid saiyan to wake up and wake his mate.

Roza quickly turned on the light and looked in concern at Goten, "What happened? What's wrong?"

Goten placed his hand on his chest and could still feel the pain but there wasn't a wound, "That felt so real."

Roza looked puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

He breathed deeply, "I had a nightmare. It felt so real, I can still feel the pain in my chest like it really happened."

"You're having nightmares again? I thought they stopped a couple of months ago." She asked.

"This wasn't about being in prison or anything like that." He answered.

"You want to tell me about it?" She rubbed his back.

Goten nodded, "Please don't take this the wrong away. There was this girl and she was trying to get me to turn my back on you and Kakarot. She wanted me to give into evil. She was trying to seduce me and when I refused she tore her nails into my chest and it hurt so much that I woke up."

Roza stroked his chest, "And you can still feel the pain from it?"

He nodded, "I've never experienced a dream like that, it was so real."

Roza tried to calm him down by smiling, "Maybe it was just a really deep dream. I've had dreams where I can almost feel what I experienced in the dream."

Goten shook his head, "I've had those type of dreams too, but this one was different."

Roza looked worried, "Well if you don't want to go back to sleep tonight, then we can stay up and I could make you something to eat if you want."

Goten shook his head, "I'm not very hungry."

Roza was surprised. Goten was half saiyan, he should be drooling at the thought of food. If he was so shaken up that he wasn't hungry then this nightmare must have been bad.

"We should go back to bed. I'm sorry I bothered you with this. You just had a baby a few days ago, you must be exhausted. I'm sorry." Goten apologized as he started to realize he was probably sounding pretty crazy to her.

Roza put his head down to her chest and rocked him gently, "Goten, you are so sweet. I know you want to protect me, but you have to remember that I'm saiyan too. I'm pretty strong myself. I can recover pretty quickly from giving birth."

Goten looked up at her eyes and smiled, "I know you're strong, but I know you're exhausted. Your eyes look tired. Lets go back to sleep, if the nightmare bitch shows up in my dreams again then she wont catch me by surprise this time. I'll just go super saiyan on her ass." He joked.

"Super saiyan on her ass? Well I can tell you're tired, your jokes always suffer when you're sleepy." She mocked jokingly.

Goten couldn't help but laugh a little, "I love you." Without another word Goten felt himself fall deeper into sleep until he quickly was deep in sleep.

Roza laid him down and wrapped the blanket around him. She kissed his lips and told him goodnight before laying down herself.

"He can be such a sweet baby sometimes. Honestly, he's like a child sometimes. But he's my big baby and I love him." She smiled as her eyes close but then she suddenly had a realization, "Wait a minute. A lady in his nightmares! Could it be just like the saiyan fairytales my mother used to tell me?" She wondered. She considered waking him up to ask him but decided against it and soon she was fast asleep herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I got spring break this week so I'm going to be posting chapters like crazy on both of my active stories. Also I decided to downgrade this to a T rating. Enjoy everyone and don't forget to review.

Chi-Chi could hear the faint cry of the babies. She slowly got out of bed and made her way to the room across the hall where her grandchildren were awake in a crib. Baby Cheena was crying and baby Kakarot had his little arm over her trying to calm her down. Chi-Chi picked up her crying granddaughter and smiled.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Almost as soon as Chi-Chi asked, Cheena stopped crying and cuddled up to her grandmother.

"Aww, you just wanted to be held, didn't you?" Chi-Chi rocked her back and forth in her arms.

"You're so sweet." Chi-Chi noticed her grandson wiggling around with his hands held up. She smiled and took him into her other arm. "You're not jealous are you?"

Surprisingly Kakarot didn't cuddled his head next to his grandmother's chest but to Cheena's back instead. Chi-Chi couldn't help but smile, "I see, you're protective of her, aren't you? I guess it runs in the family." Chi-Chi's suspicion was confirmed when he wrapped his tail around his cousins tiny waist.

"I bet you two will grow up to be best friends. With a protective cousin like you Gohan wont have to beat up Cheena's boyfriends, you'll do it for him." Chi-Chi joked but the babies only stared in confusion.

"But don't think you'll get off easy, young man. If you're mother is anything like I was with your fathers then you'll have it rough yourself. She wont let her baby boy go easily, that girl is going to have to really impress her. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself now. After all you two are only a few days old." She laughed.

"So Kakarot I want you to remember something, if Cheena is ever in trouble or needs protection it is your job to be there for her, okay?" Chi-Chi asked him.

In some way Kakarot was able to understand what his grandmother meant and smiled, "Goo!" He said.

Chi-Chi smiled, "I'll take that as a yes. Cheena, if Kakarot ever starts to lose his way or needs you to pull him out of a difficult time in your life it is your job to be his light, okay?"

Cheena looked at Kakarot then back at Chi-Chi and said, "Goo!"

"Alright, Kakarot you make sure Cheena feels safe tonight. I love you both so much and sweet dreams." She whispered and gave them a kiss as she laid them back in their crib.

Almost immediately Kakarot put his little arm over her, his tail around her gently and she cuddled up close to him.

Chi-Chi smiled, "Wow. They're young but already they're becoming close friends. That is so cute."

She made her way back to her room and cuddled up next to her sleeping husband. She started to notice how different she and Goku were becoming. He was a saiyan and aged differently than she did. Humans aged slowly over time, but saiyans aged over periods of time. Humans would progressively becoming older, but saiyans would stay child like for a period, then teenage for a period of time, then young adult, then middle age for a period of time, until they finally jumped to old age for a period of time. Currently both Goku and Vegeta were still in their middle age period and wouldn't jump to old age for at least another couple of decades, but Chi-Chi was already getting old as was Bulma.

She knew this day would come, she knew ever since she learned of the way saiyans age. She knew that she would die years before Goku would. If she were to die tomorrow she knew Goku would live another 20-40 years. Now death didn't scare her, far from it. Unlike most people she knew there was life after death. She knew that once she died she would become a soul and King Yemma would send her to Planet Heaven to be with the other good souls in the Other World. She had been there once already when Majin Buu killed her. This time it would be forever though. At least she would be reunited with the souls of her mother and father.

Chi-Chi shook her head, there was no point in worrying about it. She had has a good life even if it wasn't always easy. She had created a great family with a loving husband. When she did die she could rest on Planet Heaven in peace knowing she had lived her life to the fullest. All she could do now was enjoy her life and family.

Almost as quick as the sun rose Chi-Chi was awake, in the shower and within half an hour downstairs making breakfast. Another hour later Goku was awake and could smell the familiar aroma of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen.

When he noticed the time though he was surprised. It was really early. 7:00 am. Chi-Chi had not gotten up this early since Goten was a teenager. Ever since the kids grew up he and Chi-Chi had become late sleepers. Maybe the babies needed something and she had to get up for them. Goku walked into the room where the babies were and noticed Cheena cuddled up to Kakarot and both asleep.

He went downstairs and saw Chi-Chi cooking an extra large breakfast. He also noticed something else that maybe he should have spotted before, his wife was cooking slower than she used to. Reality hit Goku hard as he recalled a truth that brought him much pain. The fact that he was destined to outlive his wife. That unlike most earth couples, who would die first was not left to simple chance. Even as she aged, she was still beautiful to him, and she always would be.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her back, "You're up early. You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I just wanted to make a big breakfast because I want the kids to eat with us."

Goku smiled, "That sounds nice. I love you, beautiful." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Before Goku could say another word there was a knock on the door. When he opened the front door, Goten, Roza, and Videl were all standing there.

"So what brings you all here? The food?" Goku laughed.

Videl and Roza both blushed and together they said, "We miss our babies."

Goku smiled, "They're both upstairs asleep."

Goku barely had any time to dodge as the girls rushed upstairs.

"They moved almost faster than my instant transmission." Goku joked.

Goten smiled, "It sure is nice to see Roza so happy instead of beating herself up over what she did to me."

Goku smiled, "That's what having a baby does to you. It changes everything. How about we have a talk on the balcony, son?"

"Sure dad." Goten answered.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Goten asked as they stepped out onto the balcony in the back yard.

Goku's faced turned grimed, "Well I want to talk to you about being a dad but first I need you to know something important."

Goten was taken by surprise a bit that his father had such a grim expression, "Sure dad, what about?"

Goku sighed, "Its your brother and Pan."

Goten sat down across the table from his dad, "Is something bad going on with Gohan?''

Goku shook his head, "No, not with Gohan. There is something going on with Pan but I promised I wouldn't tell anyone about it so I can't tell you what it is. To be honest I'm worried Gohan is going to be overwhelmed with what is going on with Pan and a new baby."

Goten crossed his arms as he began to ponder the situation, "If Pan is doing something bad then what do you think is causing her to act like that?" He asked even though he knew what the answer likely was.

Goku looked at his son, "She was raped, and she thought you did it so she feels responsible for sending you to prison again. The guilt was consuming her. She and I hung out while you all were at the hospital but I fear she may not be passed the guilt."

Goten looked concerned, "But she shouldn't feel guilty. I don't blame her. Ryo looked exactly like me so I understand she would mistake him for me."

"But she thinks she should have known better than to think you would do such a terrible thing. Goten, I'll be honest, she hates herself for what she did. So much so that she is punishing herself for it." Goku admitted.

Goten looked horrified, "Pan…I need to talk with her alone soon. She needs to know that I don't hate her and I love her with all my heart. If only she knew how much I wish I could have been there when she was born and how happy I was to hug her the first time."

Goku smiled, "Just please don't tell her we had this little talk."

Goten nodded, "I wont say a thing to her about this."

"As for your brother. I want you to encourage him when he comes over for breakfast." Goku asked.

Goten smiled, "Of course, that's what brothers are for."

"Now we need to talk about you. You're a daddy now. I think there is something you should know." Goku told him.

"What is that?" Goten asked.

Goku gave his son a sad smile, "I told Gohan this same thing when Pan was born. Please Goten, I beg of you…be a better dad than I was."

Goten looked puzzled, "Dad…look we know you weren't always around but Gohan and I forgave you a long time ago and we love you. We know you regret not being around when you could have but you have still been there for us in our lives, a lot of kids don't ever have there dad in their lives. Gohan and I are lucky really."

Goku looked down, "I know that, I know you both forgave me. You have to understand though that sometimes I look at you boys and I wish I could have spent more time with you two. What I'm trying to say son is do your best as a parent and always be there every chance you have, so that one day you wont look back and have regrets like I have. Promise me you'll not repeat the same mistakes I made as a father. Please promise me that."

Goten nodded, "Alright dad, I promise. I'll always be there for little Kakarot."

Goku stood up, "Alright then, how about we head downstairs and stuff our faces with your mother's cooking."

Goten smiled, "Sounds like a plan to me!"

As the two saiyans walked down the hallway Goten caught a glimpse of Roza cuddling their son in her arms, and then a flash and echoes of the words the woman in his nightmares tempted him with rang out in his mind, _"I know under that sweet exterior of yours is a dark, passionate, and dare I say twisted soul that is just waiting to have some real fun…"_ She had told him.

Goten shook it off and focused in on his wife and son, "I promise I'll always be there for them." He whispered to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Like I said I'm on spring break so I'm happy to get this next chapter up quickly. Enjoy everyone and review!

The night before Trunks had overheard his mother telling his father she wanted to be a grandmother. As he laid in his bed that night he thought about where he was in life and wondered if he could truly call himself successful. Here he was at the age of 31 almost 32, sure he was the president of Capsule Corporation which was arguably the most valuable company on the planet. He had lots of girls that would love to marry him, but only because of his looks and money. He had a thing going with Marron but as the relationship went on they determined they were too different to be together. But they still remain friends.

It seemed like in some ways Goten was passing him up. Recently Goten had achieved Super Saiyan 2 and surpassed Trunks in strength. Now he had a wife and a son. He had a family and Trunks didn't. The more he thought about it the more Trunks began to see himself as a failure to his parents and to himself.

That morning while the Son family was getting ready for a big breakfast Trunks told his parents he was stepping out for a little while. He took off to the mountains near Goten's home but instead of joining the Son family for breakfast he simply watched them from a near by mountain.

They looked so happy. Videl was feeding her newborn daughter. Goten was too busy playing with his baby boy to eat much. Gohan was bonding with his parents. Roza was simply enjoying the warmth of the moment. The only one who seemed to be distant from this happy scene was Pan.

"Poor Pan, she must still be trying to get over what happened to her. That kid is too hard on herself." Trunks said talking to himself.

"Maybe I should join them. They seem to be having a good time." So that is what Trunks did. He flew toward Goku's house and stopped when he noticed there were three houses now instead of two. One belonging to Goku, another to Gohan, and the third must have been the home that Goten had recently built for Roza and the baby.

Suddenly Trunks heard a cheery voice call for him, "Hey Trunks, why are you just hovering up there? Come on down and join us!"

Trunks looked down to see the source of the voice was his best friend, "Hey Goten, you don't mind?" Asked Trunks.

Goten laughed, "Since when did you become so polite? Of course we don't mind. Your family is practically like family to us. Come on in and get a bite to eat!"

Even though the food was delicious Trunks controlled his appetite. He was an unexpected guest and it wouldn't be right if he ate as much as he normally did. Goten noticed the hesitation in Trunks' attitude. He was his best friend after all so Goten and Trunks both could tell when the other was upset or something.

"Umm…excuse me. Trunks and I need to speak about something." Goten said as he stood up.

Trunks followed Goten outside puzzled about what Goten wanted to discuss, "What's up?" Trunks asked.

Goten looked at his childhood friend and asked, "Trunks are you okay? No…stupid question. I can tell you're not okay. The question I should be is asking is why?"

Trunks knew he couldn't hide anything from Goten, "Well if you have to know, I overheard my parents talking and my mom really wants to be a grandmother and even though my dad wont admit it I think he was expecting to be a grandfather by now too. I'm starting to think I really let them down. I should have had a family by now."

Goten smiled, "Is that all? Trunks, you are being too hard on yourself. Man you have got plenty of time to start a family."

"But my mom doesn't." Trunks argued.

Goten looked down and kept silent so Trunks continued the conversation, "Look I don't want to admit it but my mother is getting older. I know she's running out of time and I want to give her at least one grandchild before she…well you know."

Trunks thought carefully about what he was about to say and spoke, "Goten…don't take this the wrong way but you know that your mother is also getting up in years. She has three grandkids now. My mom and dad don't even have one. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if Bra is the first one to have a family between the two of us."

Goten closed his eyes, "Shut up…."

"Goten?" Trunks questioned.

Goten looked down, "You don't think I know what is happening to our mothers. The hardest part of having saiyan blood is knowing our mates will die before we do. Even with half saiyans like you, Gohan, and me. Sure we may not age as slowly as my dad and Vegeta, but we still age slower than the average human. Gohan is going to have to watch Videl die before he does. Hell, Pan and Cheena are a quarter saiyan and I pray to God he doesn't have to watch his own kids go before he does."

Goten then thought of Roza, "My situation is a little different. Roza is a full blooded saiyan she'll have to watch me die first most likely. Since I'm half saiyan and Roza is a full saiyan, I'm guessing that makes Kakarot 3 quarters saiyan. When he picks a mate he'll have to watch her died first. Do you know how much it hurts to know that we are in these situations? Of course you do, you're worried about your mom."

Trunks looked down, "But would we really want things any other way?" He asked both himself and Goten.

Goten shook his head, "Of course not. I love my mom, I love Roza, I love my whole family and your family and all my friends. We're blessed to have the time to enjoy life with them that we do have. Besides its not like we'll be saying goodbye forever. When we all die we'll be at peace on Planet Heaven in Other World. Its not as fun as being alive but at least we'll be together."

Trunks nodded, "Goten…I'm glad I can talk to you about this stuff."

Goten smiled, "Anytime Trunks."

A scream came from inside the house. The two half breeds rushed back in to see what had happened. Pan was laying in Gohan's arms unconscious.

"What happened?" Goten questioned.

"She just passed out!" Roza answered.

Goku ran upstairs and grabbed a senzu bean. He rushed back downstairs and placed one in Pan's mouth. In a matter of seconds Pan's eyes opened but she still looked very tired.

"Baby are you okay?" Gohan asked worried.

Pan nodded, "I'll be okay."

Goku suspected otherwise. He couldn't help but wonder if Pan was still using drugs and if that had something to do with her falling unconscious.

"Lets get you in bed." Gohan said as he picked her up in his arms.

She shook her head, "No…I'll be okay. I don't want to sleep."

Gohan shook his head, "Don't argue, Pan. You're not feeling well. Just relax honey."

"Mom, I'm sorry. The breakfast was delicious." Gohan apologized.

Chi-Chi kissed his cheek, "Don't apologize, you have to take care of your little girl. I don't want to sound greedy but I think Pan really needs you and Videl both right now, so if its okay with you I can watch Cheena for a little while longer."

"Actually I've noticed little Kakarot and Cheena have taken a liking to each other. So if you don't mind Goten and I can watch them both. They can have a play date." Roza offered.

Goku smiled, "I think that is a great idea."

"Thank you, Roza." Said Videl.

Goten took Cheena into his arms and watched his brother and sister-in-law leave the house. Goten handed Cheena to his mother and said, "Roza, I'll be back in a little bit. I need to talk to Gohan about something."

Roza looked puzzled, "Am I missing something here? Why is Goten having all these private conversations with people?"

Goku looked at Roza and said, "That would be my fault. I wanted Goten to give Gohan some encouragement. Things haven't been easy on Gohan with Pan."

Roza looked at Trunks, "Okay but what was he talking to you about, Trunks?"

Trunks scratched the back of his head, "Well um, its nothing important. Goten was just telling me about how happy he was to be a daddy and a husband." Technically it wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.

"Aw that's sweet." Roza smiled.

"Goo! Goo!" Kakarot said to his mom.

"What is it, little guy?" She asked with a warm smile.

"Goooooo!" He wiggled in her arms.

"Oh I get it. You want to play. You're an active little guy aren't you?" She nuzzled her nose against his.

"Come on then. I'll take you and Cheena over to our house and we can play a game." Roza told her baby boy.

Chi-Chi followed her with Cheena in her arms, "I'll help you."

"Thank you, Chi-Chi." Roza said as they made their way to Goten's house.

Now that he was alone with Trunks Goku needed to make a request, "Trunks, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Goku." He replied.

"How close are you and Pan?" Goku asked.

Trunks was a little surprised by the question, "Well we're friends. She and I hang out sometimes. Why do you ask?"

Goku's expression quickly turned serious, "Listen, I know Pan has been doing something to herself and think that is why she collapsed today. But she promised me she wouldn't do this thing to herself anymore, and I promised I wouldn't tell anyone what it was."

Trunks nodded, "You don't have to tell me. I think I figured it out. She's been doing drugs hasn't she?"

Goku looked surprised, "How did you figure that out?"

Trunks smiled proudly, "Well I am my mother's son. I know a lot about medical stuff. I could tell by the way she was acting today and Goku I have to tell you that I think she came really close to an overdose today."

Goku looked horrified, "You mean she could have died?" Goku became more concerned than ever, "If she dies from an overdose I don't know if Shenron could revive her. I'm not sure what an drug overdose would count as, a natural death or a killing."

Trunks put his hand on Goku's shoulder, "It would be a killing. Overdose is the same as killing yourself. She could be revived I'm sure of it. But we have to prevent that from ever happening in the first place."

"Which is why what I'm about to ask of you is more important than ever. Trunks I want you to get closer to Pan. She may have a harder time coming completely clean with a family member than she would with a close friend. I want you to be that close friend. You don't have to snitch on her to me, just do whatever you can to help her. Please Trunks." Goku begged.

Trunks nodded, "Of course Goku. I'll do everything I can."

"Thank you Trunks. You're a good kid, no wonder your mom talks so highly of you." Goku complimented causing Trunks to blush.

Goten waited outside Pan's room listening in as her parents were trying to comfort her and figure out what was wrong with her. One bit of the conversation caught Goten's interest.

"Pan, please talk to daddy. Whatever is making you sick I need to know. I love you, I'm not going to be mad at you. Please tell me." Gohan was practically begging.

Goten felt bad for Gohan. He was trying so hard to be a good father. Why had their father asked him to speak to Gohan? Goten really didn't think he was the right person to do it. After all Goten had just now become a father only a few days ago. What right did he have to be telling Goten how to raise a child when he lacked the experience himself. Oh well it was too late now because here came Gohan.

"Goten, what are you doing here?" The eldest brother asked.

Goten looked at Gohan and hugged him without hesitation, "Brother, we need to talk."

"Umm okay." Gohan replied and the two boys went into the guest room to be alone.

"What is it, Goten? Can I help you with something?" Gohan asked.

Goten shook his head, "Actually I want to help you."

Gohan looked surprised, "With what?"

"Pan. I know you've been having a hard time with her lately. You can't keep it bottled up inside you Gohan. Anytime you keep your problems bottled up inside they start to eat away at you. They'll consume your heart and your mind. Trust me bro, I know." Goten told his brother.

Gohan sighed, "Goten, I can handle this. I don't need you to tell me how to be a good father."

"That is not what I'm trying to do, Gohan. You are a good dad and a good husband. I just know its been hard on you lately and I'm your brother, you can talk with me about anything. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm here if you need someone to lean on. You're not alone, you got me, Videl, your whole family behind you. I don't want you thinking you have to do everything all by yourself. You'll break down like that." Goten assured his brother.

Gohan stood up, "Thanks Goten. I'll see you later." Was his final word as he left the room.

Goten found himself outside wondering if he had done any good at all or if he made things worse.

"Goten, aren't you coming inside?" Roza said as she stepped outside.

Goten looked at her and smiled, he decided to focus on the babies tonight and hope his brother would be okay, "Sure honey."

The sight Goten saw when he came inside made him smile. Kakarot and Cheena were laying together on a blanket in the floor and his son had his arms around his cousin protectively.

"Roza, they really are close aren't they? So young yet they seem to have a special bond. Funny how life works out like that, huh?" Goten was speaking like a philosopher.

"You can be so deep sometimes, you know that? But they are cute." She said with a smile

Kakarot opened his eyes and looked at his parents. He smiled at them but when Goten approached him Kakarot grabbed Cheena protectively. Goten paused and grinned, "Okay, Okay. She's all yours. I promise I'm not going to hurt her. You silly little guy."

Kakarot smiled and reached for his daddy. Goten picked up the infant warrior and cuddled him close, "I bet you'll grow up to be stronger than all of us saiyans, won't you?"

Roza looked curious, "Why do you say that?"

Goten smiled warmly, "Just a feeling I have. Something tells me this kid…no Cheena and Kakarot both have a very interesting future ahead of them."

Roza recalled Goten telling her once that Goku had something akin to phsycic powers. Not that he could see the future per say, but would get certain feelings about people. She couldn't help but wonder sometimes if Goten had inherited some of that from his father. Just then Roza remembered Goten's nightmare from last night and wanted to ask him about it before she forgot.

"Goten, about that nightmare you had. Well you mentioned a woman. Its probably nothing by my mother told me once when I was little about an old saiyan fairytale that mothers would tell their young. The story said there was a witch who dressed in red that if saiyan children didn't obey their parents she would sneak into their dreams while they slept and give them nightmares." Roza explained.

Goten looked at her and smiled, "Well like I said before, it was dark in my nightmare. I couldn't see much detail about the lady. I can't say if she was wearing red or not. But that is just a fairytale right? I'm sure I'll never have that nightmare ever again. No point in worrying about it."

Roza smiled, "Yeah I guess you're right. What matters now is these babies."

Roza and Goten both laid next to the children on the blanket and stroked their hair gently as both the babies slept peacefully. Before they knew it they had their tails out and Goten and Roza were stroking each others arms with their tails.

"I love you, Roza. I love you Kakarot and Cheena" Goten whispered.

"Likewise." Roza answered back.

That night Gohan went to Pan's room to kiss her goodnight but found her already asleep. He was about to return to his bedroom when he noticed her desk drawer was opened. Gohan walked over to close it when he noticed what looked like a small gleam of light bouncing off of something. He reached for the item and cringed when he felt something prick his finger.

When he brought the object out of the drawer and got a closer look at it his heart sank. It was a syringe. He knew Pan didn't have any medical condition that would require her to have syringes so the only reason that this would be in her room was something no parent ever wanted to face.

"Not my Pan….my Pan can't be on drugs…" Gohan cried softly.

Gohan decided to wait until morning to approach Pan about this. He went back to his bedroom after throwing away the drugs. He didn't attempt to hide his tears from Videl. When she heard his soft cries Videl sat up from bed.

"Gohan…honey, what's wrong?" She asked as he sat next to her.

Gohan looked in Videl's eyes and Videl could see whatever it was it was really bad, "Tell me what's bothering you."

"Not tonight Videl. I'll tell you in the morning for sure. You have to know but you need to rest tonight and so does Pan." Gohan told her.

Videl felt an uneasiness in her heart, "Is this about Pan?"

"I promise I'll tell you first thing tomorrow." Gohan repeated.

"Okay" She said as she gave up trying to figure out what had happened.

Gohan cried himself to sleep that night with Videl holding him close to her, stroking his spiky hair, and soon she was asleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

It was early morning when Goku could hear a knock at the door. Well it was more like some banging loudly on the door. Chi-Chi looked at the clock and saw it was 6:00 am. That concerned her because even though it was a Monday, Pan did not usually get up for school until 6:30. Surely Goten and Roza wouldn't be awake this early. Maybe there was an emergency.

"Goku could you go see who is at the door?" She asked and yawned.

Goku nodded and slowly stood up. He stretched and put some shorts and a loose t-shirt on. He made his way downstairs and opened the door.

"Pan? What are you…" But before he could finish his sentence his granddaughter had him slammed against the wall with tears in her eyes.

"You promised me! You promised you wouldn't tell them! You promise!" Pan shouted.

Goku knew exactly what she was talking about, "Pan I didn't tell them a thing."

"Liar! You were the only one who knew. You had to have told them! How else did they find out?" She questioned angrily.

Goku shook his head. He wondered if Trunks could have told Gohan and Videl but Trunks was a good kid, he wouldn't have deliberately disobeyed Goku.

That is when Gohan and Videl appeared in the door way, "He's not lying, Pan. You grandpa didn't tell us a thing."

Pan looked horrified at her father, "Daddy…I…"

"Last night I found the drugs in your desk. I found them myself. So don't blame your grandfather." Gohan explained.

Pan loosened her grip and let go of her Grandpa's shirt, "Momma…daddy…You hate me now don't you?" Pan backed away crying.

She felt so trapped. She knew her father was going to kill her. She knew she was going to be in so much trouble. Any minute now she expected to hear the sound of her cheek bone cracking from the force of her dad's fist. So she was shocked when she felt the warm embrace of her daddy hugging her.

"Aren't mad?" Pan asked.

Gohan nodded, "Of course I am. But that doesn't mean I don't love you. Pan, enough of this. You're too good of a person to be involved in drugs. Its time to you talk to us. Pan, all we want, all I want is to help you."

Pan was so sick of this concern they all had for her, "STOP IT!" She yelled.

"Pan?" Gohan said stunned by his daughter's anger.

"You all think I'm so princess. That I'm too good to act like I have. I'm not innocent, I'm nothing. I let fear control me. Uncle Goten had been through so much and when he got back from prison he loved me so much. He was so sweet to me. He even saved me from Ryo when I was kidnapped. Then how did I treat him? I thought him to be evil enough to rape me, and out of fear I just stood by and let him go to prison a second time. I should have known he wouldn't hurt me, I shouldn't have been such a scared little child. But I was a coward, and I shouldn't get away with that." Pan explained everything she was feeling.

Gohan soon realized that this guilt she had, this self hatred she had, it was keeping from facing the fact that she was a victim too. For Goten he knew he was innocent so he could embrace that pain, but for Pan she was so consumed by hatred toward herself that she couldn't even feel the pain of having been raped and so the hatred in her heart blocked any kind of attempt for her family to help her heal.

Gohan knew there was only one solution to all of this and he was standing at the door listening in. "I can hear you guys arguing all the way from my house." Goten complained.

Goku looked at his youngest son and sighed, "Goten, I'm sorry we woke you."

"Actually I'm glad you did." The hybrid answered.

Goten looked at Pan, "Pan, come talk with me."

Pan knew this was going to happen. Now her uncle get could his revenge personally. The Uncle and niece duo took off to a secluded spot in the mountains where they could be alone.

The two stayed silent for a few minutes before Goten asked, "So you've been doing drugs? I heard you say you were doing it to punish yourself for what happened to me."

"At least someone finally gets it." She replied.

Goten sighed and sat next to her looking out at the rising sun, "Pan, its time you heard this from me personally. I don't blame you for what happened that day. I love you, you're my niece and I love you so much. I don't want you to hurt yourself. So if you hurt yourself you'll be hurting me and you don't want that, do you?"

Pan gripped her fist, "Don't you dare play games like that with me. I was responsible for sending you to prison the second time, for my dad beating you up. You can't tell me you can just let that go."

"Pan of course that all hurt a lot. But we found out the truth. We found out Ryo was behind it all, he played all of us. How in the hell does it make sense for any of us to blame anyone else in this family when we all got played by that freak?" Goten tried to explain to her.

In her mind what he said made sense but the stubborn saiyan inside her wouldn't let it go. It still didn't feel right to let it go.

"Why aren't you shaking with anger? How can you smile after all you've been through? I don't understand you. Maybe that is one reason I'm so angry. Every time I look at your face I see something I can't make sense of, and that is you." She confided in him.

Goten turned his head from her, "Then don't look at me." He said playfully.

"I didn't mean it like that." She answered.

"I know. Pan, listen I'm not going to sit here and act like none of what happened in the past hasn't affected me. Of course some of that stuff makes me angry, and yes it still haunts me sometimes. But what you did doesn't make me feel anything but sympathy for you, because I know you weren't the one to blame. It was Ryo, not you." Goten tried explaining again, this time pulling her close to him and resting her head on his chest.

"Maybe you're right, Uncle Goten. Maybe I'm just stubborn but its too late now. My dad is going to hate me, my mom is probably ashamed of me, and how is this going to look to Cheena when she finds out how screwed up her big sister is." Pan asked sadly.

"Pan, you're dad could never hate you. Trust me I know, he loves you more than you'll ever understand. He feels like he's messed up too much as a dad and a husband. The last thing he would even consider is hating you. Your mother isn't ashamed of you, if anything she's scared for you. She's your mother, a mother worries about her kids, I know my mom did. As for Cheena, Pan you have to understand she is going to look up to you when she gets older. I always looked up to your dad when I was a kid. I still do in fact. If you want to be a good big sister then do the right thing and stop the drugs, let us help you, and lets be united as a family. Like it or not, you're stuck with this family, and we love you." Goten told her as he rubbed her back gently.

Pan began to gently cry in his chest, "Roza is really lucky to have you. You're a sweet guy. I doubt I'll ever be worthy of ever having a guy half as sweet as you are."

Goten smiled, winked and gave her a kiss on her cheek, "Hey, don't short change yourself. If I was about 10 years or so younger, wasn't your uncle, and wasn't married I would be all over you. You're a very beautiful girl Pan and any guy will be lucky to have you as his mate. Don't ever think you aren't worthy of a prince, because Pan, you are a princess and you deserve a loving husband and a family and all the good things in life. Whoever you marry, he better take care of you or he'll have to deal with me." Goten gave her the famous Son family grin.

Pan blushed, "I hope my husband is just like you."

Goten blushed in response, "How about we head back home now? I'll talk with your parents and make sure they don't yell at you. But I want you to promise me whatever punishment they give you that you wont complain about it. Just accept it and lets be a family together, okay?"

She nodded and kissed his cheek, "I promise, uncle Goten."

"Oh and Pan." He said before they took off for home.

"Yes?" She asked back.

"If you ever need to talk you know you can always talk to me. But try to talk to your dad first. He wants to be your rock, Pan. Trust me, he's a solid rock to lean on. I know that personally. I always came to him when I needed comfort and advice as a kid." Goten told her.

Pan smiled, "Okay, thank you."

As soon as they landed outside the house Goten looked at Pan, "Stay out here for a minute. Let me talk to your parents."

Goten spoke to Gohan and Videl and explained what happened. Gohan had calmed down since this morning and agreed not to yell at her. After Goten spoke with them Gohan and Videl took Pan home, but as Pan was walking away with her parents she turned and watched her uncle until she was inside her home.

"So do you think she'll stop using drugs for sure now?" Goku asked his youngest boy.

Goten nodded, "Yeah I think we've got that straightened out. By the way Trunks told me what you asked him to do with Pan. Dad, I know you're a lot more crafty than you seem. What exactly do you have planned?"

Goku grinned happily, "You let me worry about that. Besides don't you have a family to attend to?"

Goten nodded, "Yeah, I guess I should tell Roza what happened. Speaking of my family, Kakarot and Cheena certainly became friends fast, didn't they?"

Goku grinned again, "Yup. If I were you, I would get comfortable to the idea of those two hanging out together most of the time. When they get a little older they're going to be close friends."

"Yeah, that's for sure. Kakarot seems so protective of Cheena and they're just babies." Goten commented.

"Well it runs in our family, the whole protection thing, that is." Goku reminded him.

Goten smiled, "Well I guess all we can do now is wait and see where their future takes them. I'm sure by the time they're 4 or 5 we should have an idea of where they're heading huh?"

Goku grinned happily again, "I think I already have an idea of where those two are heading."

Goten looked puzzled, "You do?"

Goku began to walk upstairs and nodded, "Sure do. But I'm not going to tell you, that would spoil the fun and surprise of being a dad. Have a good day with the kids, son."

Goten stood there alone in the living room confused, "Dad can be such an enigma sometimes. Does he really have an idea of what they're future will be like. Well no point in wondering about it, I'll just have to sit back and enjoy the show." He said to himself happily.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Alright I just want to explain that at some points in the story I'll do a time jump and skip a few months to a few years to advance the story to the next major event. So don't be taken by surprise if that happens. After this chapter I'll probably do a time jump.

It was getting late in the afternoon. Pan had been sitting outside on the deck of her home avoiding her family out of shame. Trunks had been called up by Goku to try and help Pan talk more. Trunks had been watching her for about 15 minutes now, so finally he gathered up the courage and stepped outside.

"Hi Pan." He said as gently as he could.

Pan looked at him and struggled to give him a small smile, "Hi Trunks. I guess you've heard about what I did?"

Trunks sat next to her and nodded, "Yeah."

"I guess you think I'm nothing but a filthy druggy now, huh?" She said with venom in her voice.

Trunks shook his head, "No I don't. What I think is that you were hurting, you convinced yourself that you were at fault for what happened to Goten, and in your mind you thought you had to be punished, so you went and punished yourself."

Pan lowered her head, "My mom and dad will never look at me the same way again."

Trunks shook his head, "That isn't true, Pan. I was at the hospital the day you were born, if you could have seen the look in Gohan and Videl's eyes, they were so happy. They love you more than you'll ever fully understand, Pan."

"What about you? How do you look at me?" She asked curiously.

Trunks blushed, "Honestly? My heart breaks whenever I look at your face. You shouldn't be feeling all these things you feel right now, you're so young. But then sometimes I look at you and I see that deep down you're not as fragile as what you may seem at a first glance and that makes me smile. You're tough Pan. You'll get through this. One day you'll find a great mate and have a bunch of little babies and be a wonderful mother."

"I don't deserve all of that." She answered.

Like a reflex Trunks took her hand in his and answered quickly, "Yes you do!"

Their faces were really close to each other now. Both of them blushed a deep red and quickly turned away from one another.

"I'm feeling sleepy, Trunks. I think I'll go to bed now." Pan stood up and approached the door but was stopped by the sound of Trunks' voice.

"Pan, um…listen I was thinking maybe it would be good if you had a day to get out and get away from all of this. So if you want to maybe we could hang out in town tomorrow?" Trunks asked nervously.

Pan blushed and smiled, "I would really like that."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he took off for Capsule Corp.

Pan twiddled her fingers, "Did he just ask me out on a date? No, that can't be what this is. He's a little over twice my age, he'd never be interested in me like that."

While in her room slipping on her Pajama's for bed Pan heard a knock at the door. She didn't have to wait for the person on the other side to say anything. She knew who it was.

"Come on in, daddy. I'm finished getting ready for bed." Pan told her dad.

He opened the door and smiled, "Hey princess. I know you're tired but is it okay if we talk?" Gohan asked in a more humble tone than he had spoken to her in the past.

Pan was surprised by the emotion in her dad's voice, how could she refuse, "Of course, daddy."

Gohan sat down on her bed and Pan came to her dad and cuddled up to him, "Daddy…I'm sorry I'm a disgrace. The first child in the Son family to do drugs…not exactly the best legacy is it?"

Gohan rubbed her back gently and pulled her close, "Pan, stop it. You're beating yourself up again. I'll do anything you want, anything to make you feel better."

Pan was taken back. Her father was begging. "Daddy, shouldn't you be punishing me? You know ground me or to be honest I wouldn't blame you if you hit me."

Gohan shook his head, "No…I'm tired of letting my anger control me. After what I did to your mother and Goten I'm afraid of what I'm capable of when I'm angry. All I want is my baby girl back and I'd do anything to see you happy again." Gohan cried as he took her hands into his own shaking hands.

Pan's heart poured out as the tears from her eyes were pouring out. She hugged her dad and whispered, "I'm sorry. You and mom have a new baby, I have a little sister, and here I am acting like this. I'm sorry, dad. Please don't ever think I don't love you. I'm proud you're my dad. I love you so much."

"Thank you, baby girl. Pan, I'm so sorry I've been acting like I have. I'm sorry I let anger guide my actions. Don't feel guilty because of what I did to Goten. That was so stupid of me. I was so busy trying to be a good father that I screwed it up by hurting my brother instead of going after the monster who really hurt you. Can you ever forgive your dad for being such a fool?" Gohan asked sincerely.

Pan nodded, "Of course I forgive you, dad. Can you forgive me?"

Gohan nodded, "I already have."

Watching them from the door was Videl. She smiled as she thought that finally this chapter in Pan's life could finally be let go. She looked at her infant daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms and smiled at the thought of a new future for this baby.

In the house next door Goten was sitting on his bed waiting for Roza to come out of the bathroom. Ever since he spoke with Pan earlier today something had been on his mind. When Roza came out of the bathroom she noticed the focused expression on her husband's face and couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.

"What's on your mind, Goten?" She asked.

Goten broke from his concentration and smiled at her, "Done brushing your teeth?"

Roza smiled back, "They're as clean as crest toothpaste can get them."

Roza sat behind him and massaged his bare shoulders, "Tell me what is bothering you. I know you, I can tell your thinking about something."

Goten sighed, "Every since I talked with Pan I have been thinking about something. But it isn't easy for me to bring this up with you."

Roza cringed because she knew where this conversation was heading, "I wont get upset, I promise." She whispered to him.

Goten swallowed slowly, "The girl your brother raped. The one who thought I raped her. Her name is Laura. I said some awful things to her the day I was released at the court house. I was so angry at her, but I shouldn't have said those things. She was raped, Pan was raped. Laura was just a much a victim as I was. If I don't apologize and forgive her now then I'm going to regret the rest of my life."

Roza put her arms around him and rested her head on his back, "Do what you have to do." Was all she said before she laid down and fell asleep.

Goten sighed, "God help me, this isn't going to be easy." And with that Goten also laid down to sleep.

The next morning Goten explained what he was going to do and left little Kakarot in his father's care. Goten took off for a small town outside of Hercule City where Laura was supposed to be living now. He looked for the address from the phone book and finally found her home. He approached the door, took a deep breath and knocked. The door slowly creaked open and there stood Laura with her blond her, still in her night gown. She apparently hadn't noticed it was Goten at the door as she nervously and shyly greeted him. Poor girl, she had changed. He remembered her before the rape occurred, she was outgoing, now she was shy and nervous. Goten felt his heart breaking as he thought about how much of an asshole he was for saying what he did that day to her.

As she lifted her head she took notice of him and suddenly her expression turned to one of almost horror, "G..Goten. What are you doing here!"

Goten looked down in shame, "Don't be afraid. I'm not mad at you anymore. Listen I know you probably don't want to see me right now so I'll try and be quick with this. That day at the courthouse when I was set free I said some really awful things to you. I told you I hoped you experienced every bad thing that could happen to a person in life. I'm sorry I said those things."

Laura looked absolutely shocked, "You're…apologizing to me?" She never thought she would see this. "But I'm the one who sent you to jail. It was my fault you lost 15 years of your life, you should hate me."

Goten shook his head, "For a long time I did but I can't anymore. I'm tired of hate. I just want to be happy and I want you to be happy. No more hate…I'm exhausted from hating. I just want peace, I want to rest, I want to enjoy life, and I want you to be able to let the guilt go. You don't have to feel guilty for what happened to me. I realize now you were just as much of victim of what happened as I was. I'm sorry for what happened to you. I want you to have a good life."

Just then Goten saw a little girl and little boy standing in the hall behind her, "Those your kids?" Goten asked.

Laura nodded, "Yeah. Umm, Julie, James, go back to the living room and play with daddy. I'll be in there in a few minutes."

Goten smiled as the two scampered back to the living room, "Are they twins?"

She nodded again, "Yes."

Goten smiled, "I'm glad you have a family and a husband that loves you. I have a wife and a little boy now myself."

"I'm happy for you." She told him and she meant it.

"There is something else I wanted to tell you. I found the bastard that raped you." Goten told her.

Her eyes widened with even more shock. Goten looked into her eyes and told her the truth, "He's dead now. I made sure of it. You'll never have to worry about him hurting you or your family again."

Suddenly Laura felt a rush of relief consume her body. She had feared ever since they discovered Goten was not the real rapist that the real one would find her and hurt her or her children. She felt so free. She hugged him and cried without a second thought.

"Thank you. Oh God thank you. " She cried.

Goten hugged her and whispered, "Do me a favor. I want you to live your life and enjoy it. Enjoy those kids, enjoy being with your husband, enjoy not having to worry about that bastard coming to hurt you again. I'll be doing the same in my life, enjoying my new family. We both deserve to be happy, don't ever think you don't deserve to be happy."

She stepped away from him and dried her eyes, "Thank you so much."

Goten placed his hand on her shoulder and then walked away, "Enjoy your life." Was the last thing he said before he was gone from her sight.

She stepped back into the house and looked at her husband with a smile she hadn't shown in years.

"Laura, what's wrong?" Her husband asked.

Laura stepped over to him and hugged him, "Nothing is wrong. Everything is great. For the first time in a long time I feel really happy."

In the center of the small town Roza waited for Goten. When she saw her husband approach her she was about to say something but was met by a deep passionate kiss from her mate.

"Lets go home." He whispered and picked her up in his arms.

"We have a new life to enjoy. I don't plan to waste a second of it." And with that they took off back to their home, with new exciting moments awaiting them in their future, especially in the future of their son Kakarot and his cousin Cheena.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** Sorry I haven't updated in a little while. I've been busy with college but I caught a break this weekend. Like I said before this chapter has the first time skip. So enjoy everyone.

Little Kakarot was cuddling his pillow next to him, he yawned and was ready to fall asleep. But then he sensed a presence. He opened his eyes expecting to see his mom or dad standing next to his crib, but it wasn't either of them. The infant saiyan was surprised to see a beautiful female dressed in a smooth silky red dress.

At first Kakarot was wary of the woman and was about to start crying to alert his mother and father to this possible threat. But then the lady in red picked up the child and suddenly Kakarot felt a relaxing sensation wash over him. He cuddled up to her.

The lady in red smiled and moved a strand of hair out of the little boy's face, "I'll be watching you, little one."

In the house next door Videl was giving Cheena a bath. The female baby seemed annoyed when her mother began to wash her tail.

Videl giggled, "I guess all saiyans hate for people to mess with their tails. Pan didn't like it much either when she was a baby."

Cheena stared into the water in irritation when something caught her attention. She focused on the water and the reflection of a woman in red appeared in the water. Cheena was confused and then frightened when the woman's face twisted into a monstrous form with sharp fangs hanging from her mouth.

Cheena began crying, splashing in the water, and reaching up toward her mother. Videl quickly pulled Cheena out of the water and held the shivering baby close.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Videl asked.

Cheena pointed toward the water and made frightened baby sounds. When Videl looked at the water she saw nothing. It looked like soapy bath water, just like it should.

When Videl tried placing Cheena back into the water her daughter freaked out. Videl quickly pulled her baby girl back into her arms and began to dry her.

"Alright, I guess you're clean enough. I don't know what could have scared you so badly. Well mommy isn't going to make you get back into the bath tonight." Videl said as she carried her baby to her room for bed.

Cheena had a difficult time falling asleep that night but eventually her tired little body won over her frightened mind and she was asleep. From that night forward though Cheena would have nightmares every once in awhile about the monstrous lady in red she saw that night. She refused to get in the bathtub from then on, so her parents would always have to bath with her in a metal barrel outside just like the Son family had always enjoyed doing.

Kakarot on the other hand would be visited by the lady in red every once in awhile. Unlike with Cheena, she was nice to Kakarot. As Kakarot got older he tried to tell his parents about the lady in red but his parents simply chalked it up that he was pretending to have an imaginary friend just like most kids did at his age.

5 YEARS LATER:

Today was an exciting day. Chi-Chi, Roza, and Videl were busy cooking and baking. The men in the Son family were busy decorating outside. Today was Cheena and Kakarot's 5th Birthday. Speaking of that cousin saiyan duo, they had become close friends. Everyone knew that Cheena and Kakarot were tight, they hung out all the time.

"Hey dad, does the 'Happy Birthday' sign look straight?" Goten asked.

Goku looked at the sign and nodded, "Looks fine to me! Cheena and Kakarot are going to love this!"

Gohan looked at his dad, "Speaking of those two, where are they?"

Goku smiled, "Well Kakarot was getting impatient and wanted his presents so Cheena and him went out to play in the forest. I'm sure when they smell Chi-Chi's cooking they'll coming running back."

Bopping around in the forest was Kakarot wearing his blue gi with a white long sleeved undershirt. His hair was black and styled similar to Goku's super saiyan hair style, his skin was the same grey color as his grandfather Turles. Along side him was his cousin Cheena wearing her red gi with a yellow long sleeved undershirt and her black hair tied mid way in the back with a red bow, her eyes were like her mother's and her skin was pale like her father's.

"Are you sure there is monster out here?" Cheena asked Kakarot skeptically.

Kakarot nodded, "Of course I'm sure, I heard it growling when I was taking a bath outside last night."

"But there are plenty of dinosaurs around here. You probably just heard one of them." She argued.

Kakarot shook his head, "This didn't sound like no dinosaur I've heard."

Before too long they stumbled upon a large seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. Kakarot grinned, "This is it! This is where the growling came from!"

Cheena looked into the hole, "Wow! There is no way a dinosaur made that."

Kakarot picked up a rock and threw it into the hole, "Wake up down there monster!" He shouted.

Cheena put her hands over his mouth, "Are you crazy! If there is a monster down there I don't want him to come up and eat us!"

Kakarot removed her hand from his mouth and smirked, "Oh come on, your cousin is super strong. I can handle any monster! I'll protect you!"

Cheena sighed, "You're not invincible you know."

Kakarot stuck his tongue out, "You just wish you were as brave as I am."

She shook her head, "Stupidity isn't the same as bravery and you are acting really stupid right now."

Kakarot looked mad, "I'll show you. HEY WAKE UP!" He shouted again into the hole.

When there wasn't an reaction from the supposed beast below Kakarot took a step back and sighed, "Don't tell me it isn't home. Now I'm going to look stupid."

Suddenly the ground began to shake and in an instant a giant worm rose from the hole in the ground and stared down the saiyan children. Kakarot and Cheena were both amazed by the size of the worm, it was the biggest they had ever seen.

"What do we do, Kakarot?" Cheena asked in fear.

Kakarot gulped, "Run like heck back home so grandpa Goku can kill this thing!" He grabbed her hand and started running.

"What ever happened to being brave?" She asked as they kept running.

"Like you said, I was acting stupid." He admitted.

He looked behind and stopped when he noticed the worm was not following, "What the heck? Where is it? I figured it was going to gobble us up."

A rumble in the forest caught their attention and soon its source was revealed as the worm shot out from the forest and was heading at them so fast they didn't have time to dodge.

Cheena gripped Kakarot's gi and cried, "Kakarot!"

Kakarot looked at Cheena and then looked at the worm and like a reflex his protective instincts kicked in, "Kamehameha!" He shouted and out from his hands came the traditional blue Son family attack, blowing the worm into ashes.

"I'm sure glad my dad taught me that attack." Kakarot said in relief.

Cheena punched him in the side, "You idiot! You could have got us killed."

Kakarot rubbed his side, "Lets just not tell anyone about this okay."

"Well duh, I don't want to get in trouble." She told him.

They looked at each other and smiled, and soon they were laughing for no real reason at all.

"Hey is that grandma Chi-Chi's cooking?" He said as he sniffed.

"Dinner must be ready which means cake!" Cheena exclaimed in excitement.

Kakarot grinned, "Which means birthday presents."

"What are we waiting for then? Lets head home!" She said and the two began to race back home as quick as they could.

As they exited the forest Cheena looked at Kakarot and said, "Thank you for saving me back there."

Kakarot smiled, "That's my job. I don't know about you but I vaguely remember making a promise to grandma Chi-Chi when I was a baby that I would protect you no matter what."

Cheena eyes widened, "I remember I made a promise to grandma Chi-Chi when I was a baby too."

"Oh, what was the promise?" Kakarot asked.

Cheena blushed, "That if you ever fell into darkness I would be your light to guide you."

Kakarot blushed, "Oh, well you make me happy, you know that, right?"

"Of course, you're my best friend." She smiled back at him.

"Hey you two!" Goku shouted as his grandkids came into view.

Kakarot jumped into Goten's arms and Goten rub his son's spiky hair, "Happy Birthday, kiddo."

Cheena ran to her mother and hugged her, "Happy Birthday, sweetheart." Videl told her daughter as she gave her a big hug.

"Can we eat cake now, daddy?" Kakarot asked.

Goten smiled, "Trust me buddy, I'm just as hungry as you are but we have to wait for Bulma's family, Krillin's family, and Piccolo first."

"Speaking of which, look who just arrived." Roza pointed up to a aircraft with Bulma and Krillin's families inside. Piccolo and Vegeta were flying outside of the aircraft.

"Hi everyone!" Kakarot said happily.

"Wow kid, your mom must be feeding you well you've really grown." Krillin told the young saiyan.

"And you're growing more beautiful everyday, Cheena" Bulma complimented the young girl.

"Thank ma'am!" She chirped.

"Well lets not keep this introduction drawn out any longer. You promised food Bulma and I want food." Vegeta stated firmly.

"Oh come on and lighten up, Vegeta. But I do agree, I'm hungry so lets eat cake!" Goku agreed.

"Alright but first the kids should make their wishes." Roza used a small bit of ki on her finger tip to light the candles.

"Go ahead you two, make a wish and blow out the candles." She sat the cake down in front of them on the table.

"I know exactly what I want to wish for." Kakarot said.

Cheena nodded, "Me too."

"I wish that Cheena and I…" Kakarot thought to himself.

"I wish that Kakarot and I…" Cheena thought to herself.

"Will always be a team together forever." They both thought to themselves and then blew out their candles.

At that exact moment the dragon balls which were kept inside of Goku's home glowed three times as though reacting to what they said, but the dragon was not summoned.

The rest of the party went just like a typical birthday would. There was cake and presents and of course a lot of love. Off away from the party Pan and Trunks were sitting together in one of the trees.

"So Trunks, I've been thinking. We've been hanging out the past five years and well you've been the best friend I've ever had." Pan confessed.

Trunks blushed, "Pan, I was just…you're welcome."

There was a long pause then Trunks continued, "Pan listen I was wondering…umm…"

"Yes Trunks?" Pan questioned.

Trunks decided against finishing what he was really going to say, "I was wondering, you want to go to the beach tomorrow?"

Pan smiled, "That sounds really fun Trunks!" Pan said with excitement.

Trunks focused on her and how she had grown these past 5 years, she had grown from a 13 year old girl into a beautiful 18 year old woman. Wait what in the world was he talking about. She was way too young for him, she was 18, he was 36, he knew he couldn't let himself experience feelings like that for her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked confused.

Trunks shook his head, "Um nothing. I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Yeah it will be fun." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder and cuddled his arm close to her chest.

As the sun was starting to set the women wear cleaning everything up while the kids were playing on Kakarot's new Play Station 3. Pretty soon everyone had left and it was time for bed. Kakarot wanted to sleep over at Cheena's house and Goten and Roza were happy to let him.

The two monkey tailed cousins were cuddled up under the sheets. Videl came in to check on them and smiled when she saw them turn to face each other and then Cheena and Kakarot cuddled up to each other with Kakarot's arms wrapped protectively around Cheena.

This was the true start of Cheena and Kakarot's story.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Like I hinted in the last chapter, it's a day at the beach. I meant to get this out earlier this week but 3 exams and an essay to turn in kind of ate away my week. Enjoy and review!

When Pan came down for breakfast Videl spotted the beach bag she was carrying and asked, "Going to the beach, huh?"

Pan smiled, "Yup, Trunks and I are going!"

Videl winked, "You and Trunks, huh? Alright."

"What?" Pan asked curiously.

Videl smirked, "Pan, I'm not naïve. I know you and Trunks have a little something going on."

"Mom! He's a little over twice my age!" Pan blushed.

"Oh come on. Its not like he's an old man or anything. Besides him being an older man means he can protect you more. Not that my little saiyan warrior needs protecting, right?" Videl joked.

Pan sighed, "Just hush, mom."

Videl giggled right when Gohan came in prompting the half saiyan to ask, "What's so funny?"

Videl smiled, "Oh nothing, Pan and Trunks are just going to the beach today."

Gohan smiled, "Oh that sounds nice. How about you take Kakarot and Cheena too!"

"But dad!" Pan protested.

"What? Its not like you're going on a date with Trunks, right? So why not bring the kids along?" He pondered.

Pan nodded and smiled disappointingly, "Of course, great idea dad."

Pan went upstairs to wake the kids. Videl was tapping her foot on the floor while she crossed her arms and gave Gohan the death glare.

"Son Gohan, you did that on purpose." She stated firmly.

Gohan grinned, "Of course I did. Its my job to ruin my baby girl's dates. Don't think I don't see what is happening between her and Trunks."

"So judging by your tone of voice I assume you approve of it?" Videl asked.

Gohan nodded, "Of course. Sure Trunks is older than her but he's a good guy and I know he would treat her right so I'm fine with it, I just know that if she brings the kids along with her then it will ensure that she and Trunks behave if you know what I mean."

Videl kissed her husband, "Your mean, but your good dad and a very sexy husband. With the kids out for the day maybe we could have some alone time?"

Gohan smirked and kissed his wife back, "You read my mind."

"Mom dad! The kids and I are gone!" Pan yelled as she and the little ones left.

"Well that was quick." Videl commented.

Gohan grinned, "Lets hope they take much longer to get back home though."

"You haven't been this wild since before Pan was born." Videl commented.

"Enough talk." He whispered and kissed her passionately.

In the air Kakarot was smiling and humming as his tail swayed in the wind, "Maybe we'll find a sea monster!"

Cheena laughed, "What is the deal with you and giant monsters?"

Kakarot grinned childishly, "Monsters are cool! Do I need any other reason?"

Cheena sighed with a smile, "I guess not. But I wonder, what else do you think is cool?"

Kakarot smiled, "You of course."

"Really?" She asked.

Kakarot nodded, "You're my best friend, duh! Of course your cool! You know how boring my life would be if I didn't have you to hang out with?"

Cheena shook her head, "You would find a way to get in trouble somehow."

Pan shook her head as she listened in on their conversation, "Maybe having them tag along wont be so bad. They'll probably go treasure hunting or something."

Trunks waved at Pan as she came into view but looked surprised to see Kakarot and Cheena with her.

"Hey guys. Uh what are you doing here, Kakarot and Cheena?" Trunks asked with a smile.

"We get a chance to go to the beach and you think we're just going to sit home? No way! Come on Cheena, lets go for a swim!" Kakarot said as he pulled his shirt off and ran into the ocean.

Cheena slipped her clothes off revealing a bathing suit underneath. She joined her cousin in the water.

"Sorry about this, Trunks." Pan apologized for bringing the kids.

Trunks smiled, "Ah don't worry. They're good kids, it'll be fine. How about we get a hot dog or something?"

"Sounds good!" Pan smiled.

"So what do you want to play?" Kakarot asked as his tail wiggled in the water.

"Want to see if we can find any treasure in the ocean?" She proposed.

Kakarot grinned in excitement, "Sure! I bet a sea monster will be guarding it!"

Cheena sighed happily, "You and monsters, I swear."

Cheena and Kakarot sucked in a lot of air in their lungs and dived into the ocean. Cheena thought the underwater environment was beautiful and Kakarot couldn't stop thinking about the fun that awaited them. Being saiyans the two swam pretty far out rather quickly and came across an undersea cave. Deciding to investigate they made their way into the cave emerged from the water when they found a pocket of air in the cave.

"Check it out! There are bricks in here and a hallway, this must have been some kind of hideout." Kakarot took in the place.

Cheena noticed that the roof and walls seemed to be damaged like there was once a cave in, "Yeah but this place has seen better days."

"Ah that just means its old which means there must be treasure!" Kakarot assumed.

He jumped out of the water and shook himself dry, Cheena followed and did the same to dry herself. Kakarot began to walk down the hallway, "Come on before Pan and Trunks noticed we've gone missing, come look for us, and ruin the fun."

Cheena grabbed his shoulder to stop him, "Kakarot this place might collapse completely. Maybe we should head back to the beach."

"Come on Cheena, don't be so afraid. Besides remember what I told you? Its my job to protect you, if anything bad happens you can count on me to keep you safe." Kakarot promised.

Cheena punched his shoulder lightly, "I'm not that weak, Kakarot. I can protect myself, thank you." She took the lead and started walking down the hall.

Kakarot stood there for a moment and whispered to himself, "I'm still going to protect you, whether you like it or not, its my job."

"You coming?" Cheena shouted back at him.

Kakarot nodded, "Huh, oh yeah I'm coming." He caught up with her and the duo began their exploration.

"Whoever was here last left this place like a dump." Cheena commented.

"Hey look, there's a room up ahead!" Kakarot ran as fast as he could until he found himself in a room where a submarine was docked, but most of the room had collapsed.

He took notice of the skull markings and his young face lightened up with excitement, "Cheena, Oh my gosh….this is a real Pirate Cave!" He yelled happily.

"Yeah I figure that out myself." Cheena responded.

"What are you talking about?" Kakarot asked.

"Come over here and check this out!" She asked.

Kakarot ran over to the small hole in the wall Cheena had crawled into. On the other side he found something amazing. In the small pool of water below was a much larger area of water filled with gold, jewels, and all manner of riches.

"Well that is definitely the treasure but where is the monster guarding it?" Kakarot wondered openly.

"Well this place looks like it was abandoned awhile ago so maybe there isn't a monster." Cheena speculated.

"Well that's a bummer." Kakarot complained.

"Lets just get some gold and get the heck out of here. This place honestly creeps me out." Cheena admitted.

"Yeah yeah, wait until the family sees the treasure we bring back home!" Kakarot grinned.

Kakarot and Cheena jumped into the water and swam to the bottom. They began picking up anything that looked valuable and filled their pockets to the brim. The two happy little saiyans swam back up to get some air.

"You think we got enough?" Kakarot asked.

Cheena nodded, "Yeah now lets get out of here before we get in trouble."

"Honestly Cheena, if Trunks and Pan haven't noticed we're gone by now then they aren't very good babysitters." Kakarot sneered.

"Wait a second. You hear that?" Cheena looked concerned.

"I think being underwater for so long has damaged your hearing. There is nothing out there, Cheena." Kakarot tried to calm her down.

"I'm not kidding, Kakarot. I hear something…like the turning of metal gears." Cheena focused closely on the sound, "Look out!" She gasped.

Out from the hole in the wall that led to the submarine dock came a pirate robot, with a purple and white color scheme, a sword in one hand, and a flamethrower replacing his other hand.

"It may not be a monster but it is a robot, is that good enough for you, Kakarot?" Cheena shrieked.

Kakarot realized they were in trouble, "In the air now!" With that the two kids flew to the top of the cave.

"That pool of water must have a source, I bet if we blast through the cave wall it will lead to the ocean, and this stupid hunk of metal wont stand a chance." Kakarot turned around to fire a kamehameha at the wall.

"Kakarot, he's going to attack! KAKAROT!" She screamed.

Kakarot turned around just in time to see sparks coming from the robot's flamethrower arm. He acted quickly and threw Cheena behind himself, then shielded his face with his arms. When the flames were about to touch his clothes Kakarot screamed which triggered the special power hybrid saiyans had. His ki flared and created a shield around him and Cheena. The flames were reflected back completely melting the robot. Both saiyans fell to the ground and Kakarot felt exhausted.

"What the heck did I do?" He questioned.

"I've never seen an attack like that! But I'm glad you did it or we would be fried to a crisp right now." Cheena was relieved.

Kakarot nodded, "Cheena…I think maybe its time to get out of this place. After that I'm really hungry and would love to have some pizza right now."

"Pizza sounds good. With all these riches I hope Pan and Trunks forgive us for running off." She said.

"Kakarot…" Cheena whispered just loud enough for Kakarot to hear.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Thank you for saving me." She said.

Kakarot smiled, "Like I said before…its my job to protect you."

Back on the beach Trunks and Pan were freaking out, "Okay we've looked everywhere around here!" Trunks said as he looked around hoping to spot them hiding somewhere.

Pan was worried sick but tried to hold onto the best case scenario, "If something happens to them I'll never forgive myself. My family will kill me. But maybe they got bored and went back home…yeah that must be it!"

Trunks looked out at the ocean and noticed two kids flying just above the water, "There they are!" He pointed.

As soon as the kids landed they were faced with a very angry Trunks and Pan.

"Where were you two? Do you know how worried we were?" Pan questioned the little trouble makers.

"I'm sorry Cousin Pan. Its my fault, Cheena just went along to make sure I didn't get hurt." Kakarot tried to take the blame himself.

Pan shook her head, "Nice try, but I know my sister and she is just as adventurous as you are."

"But look, sis! We got lots of treasure." Cheena pulled some gold from her pockets.

Pan looked surprised, "You two were treasure hunting?"

"Yup, in an undersea pirate cave. We had to deal with a mean old robot but I whooped him so no problem." Kakarot explained.

Trunks sighed, "Well as long as you two are safe then I guess we can let this slide but never run off like that again! Now lets get something to eat!"

"Oh thank the lord, I'm starving!" Kakarot couldn't get to the food shack fast enough.

Just like their Grandpa Goku before them, the cousin saiyan duo experienced an adventure in the very same underwater pirate cave. However this was only one adventure the duo would face. The adventures to come would grow in danger just as they grow in age, and with each new adventure would come deeper and sharper emotional strains.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** After getting an awesome grade of 98 on my algebra test I'm in a very good mood so I decided to type this up sooner than I originally planned. Enjoy everyone!

Trunks and the gang returned home late that evening. The kids were so tired, they quickly said their goodbyes before retreating to their individual homes for an early sleep. Trunks and Pan showed the Son family the treasure the two little wild saiyans found. Goku questioned where they got the treasure and when Pan explained what happened, Goku couldn't help but smile. His grandkids had discovered the same pirate cave that he, Bulma and Krillin once explored and fought General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army in.

Chi-Chi was very happy to see the valuable riches, as was Videl. Roza didn't seem all that interested in the jewels. All she wanted to do was go see her son. Roza sneaked away from the rest of the family and made her way into Kakarot's room.

"Son, you decent?" Roza asked.

Kakarot just finished buttoning up his pajama shirt and said, "Yeah mom, you can come in."

Roza stepped in and saw her little boy jumping up onto his bed and yawning, "You sleepy?" She asked sweetly.

Kakarot nodded, "Yup mom. I had a big day."

"I heard, you and Cheena went on a treasure hunt." She smiled and sat next to her baby boy.

"You and Cheena hang out a lot don't you?" She asked.

"Of course, she's not just my cousin, she's my best friend." Kakarot stated.

Roza smiled, "Kakarot, haven't ever wanted to have more friends? You know other kids you and Cheena can hang out with."

What Kakarot said next surprised Roza, it wasn't something she expected to hear from her five year old child, "No way. There's nothing with having regular human friends I'm sure, but Cheena and I have been a team since we were babies. Sure I could make other friends but the friendship just wouldn't be the same. Cheena and I are best best friends, and I'm happy just with her as my friend. I just don't think I would like other kids as much as I like Cheena."

Roza was taken back by her son's maturity in the way he spoke, "How much do you like Cheena?"

Kakarot suddenly looked very serious, "I'd do anything to protect her. Anyone who hurts her is going to pay!" He said with almost a saiyan like growl.

"You were like that when you were a baby too, you know." Roza told him.

Kakarot looked curious, "I was?"

"Yeah. When you two were together you were very protective of her. Did you know when you two have sleepovers that you put your arm over her?" Roza explained.

Kakarot blinked showing he was interested, "Mom…I made a promise that I would protect her."

"What?" Roza was curious.

"I don't remember it too well but I know when I was a baby I made a promise to grandma Chi-Chi that I would always protect Cheena, so ever since then I've always tried to keep that promise. I don't ever want Cheena to go away." Kakarot explained to his mother.

Roza couldn't help but feel a sense of pride fill her heart, "You're more like your dad and grandpa than you'll ever know. I'm so proud of you."

She kissed him goodnight, "Sweet dreams, son."

"Goodnight mommy." Kakarot said softly before cuddling up in his sheets.

As soon as Roza stepped outside into the hallway she was faced with Goten.

Goten smiled, "I heard most of that you know."

Roza snuggled her head into Goten's chest, "He's a good kid. But I guess that sending him to public school is out of the question now, huh?"

Goten thought about it, "I get the feeling that even if he and Cheena went to school they would only hang out with each other. You know my dad told me when they were babies he had an idea of what their future would be like."

"He did?" She asked.

Goten nodded, "Yeah but he didn't tell me exactly what that meant. My dad has a certain type of wisdom that is beyond anyone's understanding. He can seem like such a goofy guy, and in battle he can be so serious, and then when he wants to he can be so wise. Dad has a knack of knowing things like relationships and how they work out."

"Is your dad a god?" She asked sarcastically.

Goten laughed, "No but he might as well be."

"Did you hear what I said about Kakarot being a lot like you?" Roza wondered.

Goten nodded, "Yeah, what do mean?"

Roza blushed, "You're protective and sweet, and goofy but you make anyone feel safe. You're perfect, and so is our little boy. Not to mention your both so cute."

Goten kissed her lips gently, "Don't be so modest, he got something from you that I could never give him."

"What's that?" She wondered.

Goten nuzzled his nose against hers, "He got that special little ability of yours to make me smile even in the hardest of times. Plus I believe he got some those good looks of yours too."

"Goten, hold me in bed tonight." Roza closed her eyes as she rested against him.

Goten stroked her hair, "Come on princess, let me take you away."

He swooped her up into his arms and carried her to bed where he proceeded to cuddle and love her and show her how much she meant to him.

In Gohan's house Videl and Gohan had already fallen asleep but their slumber was about to be disturbed.

"Mommy Daddy!" Gohan heard Cheena yell.

The saiyan father jumped out of bed and ran to his youngest daughter's room, "Baby, what's wrong?" He asked as he cuddled his crying child.

"The lady in red!" She told him frantically.

Gohan rocked her gently, "Baby, that mean old hag is just a nightmare. She can't really hurt you. Besides if she was real you know daddy would send her straight to the next dimension before you can say dragon ball."

Cheena nodded, "Kakarot would protect me too."

Gohan smiled, "You and he are really best friends, huh?"

She nodded, "He promised he would always protect me and I promised I would be there for him if he ever needed a light in the dark."

"What do you mean by that?" Gohan questioned curiously.

"If Kakarot ever becomes really sad or gets really mean I have to make him happy again." Cheena explained in more child like terms than what she really meant to say.

Gohan kissed her forehead, "Baby girl, you could make anyone happy. Now if that mean old lady in red comes back just come get daddy, okay?"

"Okay daddy. I love you." She kissed his cheek.

Gohan smiled, "Love you too, Cheena." He said as he closed her door.

Cheena turned her head to see Kakarot floating outside her window. She opened the window and looked confused.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

Kakarot flew into her room, "I heard you screaming. Kind of hard not to when my room is a picket fence away from yours. You okay?"

Cheena nodded, "I think so. I had a bad dream."

"You want to talk about it?" Kakarot asked.

Cheena nodded again, "It was the one I told you about before. About the lady in red."

Kakarot sat on the bed and put his arm around her, "She's not that mean. I've seen her too. She's nice to me in my dreams."

"She's lying to you, Kakarot. She looks pretty but she can turn into a scary monster." Cheena tried to explain.

"Well she's just an illusion, Cheena. You know if she was real though and she tried to hurt you I would be right there to rescue you." He told her.

Cheena smiled comfortingly, "You're always there to protect me."

"Always will be." He smiled assuredly.

Before too long the two saiyans were cuddled together fast asleep in her bed. Kakarot's tail wrapped itself around her waist protectively. She responded with her tail doing the same.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll make this short and sweet. Read, review, enjoy, and repeat when the next chapter comes out lol.

Two weeks had gone by without Cheena having a single nightmare or Kakarot having a single dream. Things seemed to be going well for everybody, but there was something right under the surface of Goten that seemed troubling. For the past two weeks Roza had noticed Goten seemed a lot more agitated and wouldn't eat as much as he used to. She also noticed he was reacting like he normally does to her romantic approaches. Finally one night after she had put Kakarot to bed and made sure he was asleep, she decided to ask him about what was going on. She found him downstairs in the kitchen getting a drink of water. To say the least he looked terrible. His eyes looked so tired and he had started to walk with a slump in his shoulders like he was too exhausted to even focus on walking.

"Goten, can we talk?" She asked nicely.

He sighed and sat at the table, lighting a candle so they could have a faint light in the dark room. "Sure, I might as well. What do you want to talk about?"

"About you." She responded, "There's something wrong with you and I want to know what. You look like you've been exhausted out of your mind the past couple of weeks."

"Its nothing Roza, don't worry." He tried to assure her.

"I'm your wife, Goten, of course I'm going to worry about you. Come on honey, I want my happy Goten back." She said.

Thinking he had put the conversation to rest Goten was starting to get annoyed, "I said don't worry about it. Now can I please try and go to bed?"

He started to walk out of the kitchen but Roza grabbed his wrist to stop him. That is when Goten got really mad, "I said drop it!" He yelled angrily at her.

She flinched and stepped back, shocked by his outburst, "I'm sorry…I just…I can't help it if I worry about you, that's what you do when you love someone."

"Oh blah blah blah, don't give me that lovey dovey nonsense." He sneered back at her.

If any other man besides her husband or her son had gotten smart like that to her, her saiyan attitude would have caused her to punch the hell out of them. But being talked this way by her husband who she knew she could never even think of laying a harmful finger on, all she could do was let the words escaping from his lips sting.

Goten quickly realized what he had done. He turned and looked at her with a look of shame in his eyes, "Roza, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you or said what I said. I've been having nightmares the past two weeks. You remember that nightmare I had a few years back about a lady in red that tried to seduce me and threatened Kakarot and you? Well I never told you this but I've had those nightmares off and on like maybe 10 times total in the last five years up until two weeks ago. I never thought much of those nightmares, I thought they were just silly nightmares just like any other nightmare, but I think there may be something more there."

Roza looked concerned, "What do you mean?"

Goten sat back down at the table and began to explain, "The past two weeks I've had nightmares about that lady every night, sometimes like 4 or 5 times a night. I've not been able to sleep peacefully for two weeks now. Roza I'm wondering, maybe the lady in red fairy tale isn't completely just a fairy tale, like you told me. What if it is some kind of symptom of a saiyan mental illness?"

Roza looked horrified, "I never thought of that. But that can't be, you don't have a mental illness."

"Roza, I was in prison for 15 years and life wasn't exactly easy for me. Maybe all of that stress has caused something inside of me to snap and maybe I developed a mental illness because of it." Goten explained.

Roza looked down in shame, "Even today I'm still hurting you. Goten…I'm sorry. If you're right about this, then that means its my fault you're having these nightmares."

Goten stood up and hugged his mate close, "I didn't mean it like that. Roza, you know I forgave you already. Honey, we're married, we have a child together, I'm not mad at you anymore. Please don't start beating yourself up…you know I…I…" He began to look dizzy.

"Goten?" She looked at him curiously.

Suddenly he started to fall but Roza caught him, "Maybe you'll be able to sleep well tonight."

She carried her sleeping husband up to their bedroom and laid him under the sheets. As she was putting her gown on she watched Goten carefully and wondered if he would have another nightmare tonight. That is when she got an idea.

"Bulma is extremely smart. I bet she could figure out what is causing Goten to have these nightmares. I think I'll go see her tomorrow." Roza told herself as she slid into bed next to her already sleeping husband.

The night was not going to be as peaceful as Roza had hoped. Less than 2 hours after she had fallen asleep, she was awoken by the painful moans of Goten. Roza quickly turned the desk lamp on and looked at Goten still asleep but clenching at the middle of his chest in pain. Then she saw something troubling, he was bleeding in the exact spot he was clenching.

"Goten! Goten wake up!" She shook him.

Goten eyes jolted open and he sat up breathing hard and sweating, "Oh my God, that felt real."

"The lady in red again?" Roza asked worriedly.

Goten nodded and Roza pointed to his chest, "Honey….I think that was real."

Goten looked down and saw the blood seeping through his white loose t-shirt. He quickly pulled his shirt off and there carved into his chest was a large "W".

"Its just like my nightmare. She carved this in my nightmare. You mean….she's real?" Goten was so confused about this.

"Goten…we need to talk to Bulma about this. She can figure out what is causing this, right? I mean, what if this lady in red can get into other people's dreams? What if she could hurt Kakarot?" Roza thought about going to get her son because right now she really wanted to hold him and make sure he was safe, but she knew she was probably worrying too much about him, he would come to get her if anything was wrong.

Goten nodded, "You're right, we need to get this figured out tomorrow."

Goten was caught by surprise when Roza leaned down her head and began licking his wound, "Roza…what are you doing?"

Roza pulled back from his wound and blushed, "I'm sorry…it's a saiyan instinct. Call it primitive but saiyans never did move away from such simplistic medical practices such as licking a wound, even though we had advance technologies like the healing tanks or spaceships."

Goten blushed, "Its okay…Its kind of soothing actually."

Roza nuzzled her head against his chest and continue licking the wound.

Goten could swear her heard a voice faintly whisper, "What disgusting creatures."

"Did you hear that?" Goten asked.

"Hear what?" Roza questioned curiously.

"I guess I'm just so over stressed I'm hearing things." Goten laid back and tried to relax.

Roza kissed his chin, "If you can't get back to sleep then how about a nice warm bath to get you to relax?"

Goten smiled, "That sounds really nice, if you would be so kind to join me, my beautiful wife."

Roza smiled and stroked his hair, "Sounds fun."

In the house next door a similar set of circumstances was about to transpire only an hour later.

"Daddy…Mommy…" Cheena frightfully said as she stepped into her parents' room.

Gohan and Videl both awoke to the sound of their child's frightened voice, "Baby, what is it? Another nightmare?" Gohan asked and invited her to jump into the bed so he could comfort her.

Cheena crawled into the bed and cuddled up into her dad's arms with her mother brushing the hair out of her eyes, "Sweetheart what happened?" Videl asked sweetly.

Cheena showed them her arm and said, "The mean lady in red did this to me."

Videl and Gohan looked shocked. Carved into her arm was a "W". Videl was shocked, she knew her daughter had not done this to herself. A five year old would never think of doing this, plus Cheena got plenty of love and attention so she was trying to get more attention. Both parents knew their daughter was telling the truth, the lady in red must be real.

"Cheena, come with mommy and let me disinfect and clean that wound, okay? Then your going to sleep with mommy and daddy tonight." Videl told her kindly.

Cheena was so relieved, if the lady in red did try and hurt her again then her mom and dad would be right there to help her.

Videl looked at Gohan and whispered, "Tomorrow we are going to figure out what is going on."

Gohan nodded, "Bulma will know what to do."

Cheena looked at her parents and said, "Kakarot has seen the lady in red too."

Gohan's eyes widened, "What? Really?"

"Uh Uh." Cheena replied.

Videl took Cheena to the bathroom to clean her wound. Gohan stood up and looked out his bedroom window, "How can two people dream about the exact same thing? Wait, I wonder if Kakarot has been attacked tonight as well. I hate to wake Goten, but this is important."

Gohan picked up his phone and called his brother. Goten and Roza were just getting out of the bath when the phone rang. "I'll get it." Goten said and went into the bedroom to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Goten said.

"Goten, I'm sorry to wake you." Gohan apologized.

Goten smiled, "Oh don't worry, Roza and I were already awake. What's wrong, bro?"

Gohan felt stupid for asking such an out of this world question but this was important, "Has Kakarot been okay? He's not been attacked or anything has he?"

Goten was puzzled, "No…why?"

Gohan explained what had happened to Cheena and Goten nearly dropped the phone, "So Cheena has been seeing a lady in red and was attacked by her? And she says that Kakarot has had dreams about the lady in red too? Well I do vaguely remember him bring up something about an imaginary friend in red a couple of years ago. Gohan, was the wound in the shape of a W?" Goten questioned.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Gohan questioned.

"Because the same thing happened to me. I've had nightmares about the lady in red too, and she carved a W on my chest tonight too." Goten explained.

Gohan was really confused now, "What in the world is going on?"

"I can't say for sure, but we know its not good. Roza wants us to go see Bulma tomorrow to see what she can figure out about this." Goten told him.

"Yeah, Videl suggested the same thing and Kakarot should get checked out too." Gohan said.

"I agree. We'll get together in the morning. Lets try to have as good of a night as we can." Goten said before he hung the phone up.

The next morning Goten and Gohan explained the situation to Goku and Chi-Chi and the Son family went to Capsule Corporation. They explained everything to Bulma and Vegeta immediately became interested.

"The lady in red? That was supposed to be some silly saiyan fairy tale that parents told their kids on Planet Vegeta to get them to behave. How in the world can some silly story be real?" Vegeta wondered out loud.

"Well we wont know for sure what is going on until we do a brain scan. So if you don't mind Cheena, Goten, Kakarot, jump up onto the scanners and we'll take a look." Bulma asked.

The three saiyans did just as she said and after about 15 minutes of scanning them Bulma had the results, "Well the kids are absolutely normally, but Goten your brain is a little out of whack but that is probably due to the exhaustion you've been experiencing, not too mention you've not exactly had it easy in life."

"So what does this mean, Bulma?" Videl asked.

Bulma looked at her and answered, "Well the good news is that they are fine mentally from what I can see, but I want to do a couple of more test. I'm going to induce them into sleep and monitor their brains as they sleep, I want to see what changes when they have a dream, hopefully they'll have a dream about the lady in red. Then I'm going to wake up and induce sleep again but the second time I'll tweak it to where they'll have more control in the dream and maybe they can get some answers out of this lady in red that way."

Cheena looked nervous, she didn't want to confront that horrible witch again. Kakarot took notice of her fear and tried to comfort her.

"Cheena, its okay. If anything starts to go wrong then Bulma can wake you up, right Bulma?" Kakarot asked.

Bulma nodded, "Of course, I'm not going to put any of you in danger."

Cheena nodded, "Okay, I can do this."

Kakarot smiled, "After we're done we might never have to worry about that mean old red hag again. Just remember that."

"Thanks Kakarot." Cheena said as she laid back.

Once the three saiyans were laid back Bulma flipped a switch which released a small amount of a gas that caused them to peacefully fall asleep.

Bulma sighed in anticipation, "Lets hope this goes well."

"Good luck you three." Roza thought to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** So some spoilers in this chapter, I'm not going to spoil it so read on, and don't forget to review everyone.

"Where am I? Why is it so dark here?" Kakarot wondered.

"Kakarot!" A female voice shouted in fear.

Kakarot opened his eyes like an instinct. He recognized immediately it was Cheena calling out to him, "Cheena, where are you! Call out to me and I'll come and get you!"

"Kakarot!" He heard Cheena shout again.

The young saiyan boy flew as fast as he could toward the direction he heard her voice. Pretty soon he was out of the darkness and somehow had found himself in the middle on an abandoned city with grey skies above like it was going to rain soon.

"Kakarot…" He heard Cheena say from behind.

Kakarot turned around expecting to see Cheena but instead it was none other than the lady in red.

"What! But that was Cheena's voice. Oh wait that's right, I remember now. Bulma put my dad, Cheena, and I into sleep so we could confront you. This is a dream so I guess you can copy Cheena's voice." Kakarot assumed.

"I've missed you, its been too long since we played, Kakarot." The lady in red giggled.

There was no doubt this woman was beautiful. Her fair tanned skin complimented her shoulder length raven hair, and made her emerald eyes shine. Not too mention her red silky dress could make any man, human or saiyan alike, give her a close second glance.

"No games. You hurt my daddy and my cousin. I thought you were nice. You were always nice to me, so why did you hurt them?" Kakarot questioned her.

The lady in red smiled, "Sweetheart, I only hurt your daddy because he wanted it. You see, I know deep down your daddy likes pain."

Kakarot looked really confused, "Why would anyone like pain?"

The lady smirked, "You wont understand it right now, but for some people pain gives them a certain rush that they can't get anywhere else, and I know your daddy would get a rush from the pain I caused him. Who knows, maybe when you grow up you'll find out you may like pain too."

Kakarot gave her a look of disgust, "Why are you talking like this? You've never talked like this before. And if you hurt my daddy because you thought he'd like it, then why did you hurt Cheena."

The lady kneeled down and stroked his cheeks, "Because she's in your way. Kakarot, let me tell you something. You could be great, you and I together. But if you stay friends with her then she's just going to bring you down. So I was trying to remove her from your path."

Kakarot looked horrified and stepped away from the woman, "You…you were trying to kill her, weren't you?"

"What is so wrong with that?" She asked delightfully.

Kakarot's shocked expression quickly turned to anger, "You don't hurt her! You hurt her and I will hurt you!" Kakarot tried to make that clear.

She sighed, "Well I shouldn't expect anything else from a five year old. You are still so naïve, Kakarot. You'll understand one day."

The lady red started to fade away leaving Kakarot alone in his dream.

Goten found himself yawning under the sheets in his bed. He could feel the presence of a female next to him and of course assumed it was Roza. He looked surprised to find the lady in red laying next to him with a wicked grin on her face.

"You know I never really appreciated this body of yours. I wonder if your son will grow up to have a similar build." She remarked.

Goten jumped out of bed and looked at her with disgust, "I'm dreaming and your making it a nightmare. Who the hell do you think you are invading my son and niece's dreams, and my dreams and hurting us. If someone can't feel safe in their own bed then that is just wrong. I want you to leave me and my family alone."

She smirked, "I think your son would beg to differ. He and I have a lot of fun in his dreams. I can't wait until he gets older then he and I can have some real fun."

Goten grabbed her and pinned her to the bed, "You leave my son alone, damn you!"

"Do you ever get this rough with your wife? Or is this just what you do to the girls that really turn you on?" She mocked.

Goten gritted his teeth, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Now now, a girl never gives up all her secrets. But I can give you my name. My name is Miira." She told him.

Goten tightened his grip, "Well Miira, I told you stay away from my family. Now go away and never come back and if you touch my son or my niece, I will find some way to kill you."

Without warning she forced a kiss on his lips. Goten let go of her and jumped back in surprise.

"Don't do that again!" He warned.

"You're wife would kill you if she knew how much fun you were having do this." She teased.

Goten shook his head, "No….I'm not having fun. I love my wife."

Miira laughed, "Oh Goten…you know what I think. I think you would be happy to see your precious Roza dead, then you and I could have tons of fun with her sticking her nose in it."

Goten was pissed now. It was pretty obvious considering he was becoming a super saiyan right in front of her, "You just took this way too far."

"Then its time for me to go away now." With that she was gone leaving Goten stunned.

Goten sat down on his bed and looked down, "I hate her….how dare she screw with my emotions like that." He clenched his fist in anger.

Finally Cheena was alone, walking along a dark beach in the middle of a stormy night.

"Kakarot…where are you? This isn't a dream…it's a nightmare. But shouldn't I be able to imagine Kakarot here with me, if this is my dream?" Cheena wondered.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Kakarot standing on the edge of the dock. As she approached him the storm grew stronger and soon wind and rain were blowing fiercely. Once she was up to Kakarot she was surprised to see both herself and Kakarot were teenagers now. Even if this was a nightmare, she didn't care as long as Kakarot was in it.

"Kakarot, why you standing out here in the rain. You'll get sick." Cheena told him.

Kakarot turned around with an angry expression painted on his face, "Don't tell me what to do, Cheena. You don't think I know what you're doing?"

Cheena stepped back in surprise, "I was just trying to help. I don't want you to get sick."

Kakarot gritted his teeth angrily, "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about this sweet innocent little act you put on. That's right, I know all about it. You act so sweet and innocent thinking I'll melt like putty in your hands. I know you want to own me, to trap me in your grasp. You're so selfish. I could be so much more without you. So if you think I'm going to follow you around protecting you all the time you got another thing coming. I'm going to be great one day, and I don't need you screwing it all up."

Cheena looked down and was starting to cry, "Is that how you really feel about me? I thought you and I were a team? I thought I meant more to you than that…because you mean so much to me…"

Kakarot slapped her, "You're so stupid!"

That was all Cheena needed to be brought back to her senses, "I almost forgot…this is a nightmare. You're not the real Kakarot…you're not my Kakarot. You're the lady in red, aren't you?" She called her out.

Kakarot's form disappeared, being replaced by Miira, "Actually the name is Miira. And just because I was pretending to be Kakarot doesn't mean that he doesn't feel that way about you. Everything I said was true, you're just holding him back."

She got into a fighting stance, "I wont hear it! Now leave me and my family alone!"

"Let me tell you the truth. I know this is how Kakarot feels because he told me. Remember he trusted me all these years, I was his imaginary friend. He told me everything he felt. He wants to leave you and his whole family behind and come with me because he knows I can make him great." Miira tried to convince the young saiyan.

Cheena gripped her fist, "I'll never believe that!"

Miira laughed, "So firm in your belief in him. Does Kakarot really mean that much to you? Then lets see how much you mean to him."

Cheena moved back as Miira approached her, "What are you going to do?"

Miira grinned, "I'm going to enjoy this." Miira opened her mouth revealing razor sharp fangs. Before Cheena had a chance to do anything, Miira had her fangs stabbed into Cheena's neck so deep.

Outside in Bulma's lab Videl watched in horror as Cheena's nightmare became reality. A wound started to appear on Cheena's neck and blood leaked out just like in the nightmare.

Back in Cheena's dream Miira wasn't finished yet, she grabbed Cheena's arms and smirked, "If the bond between you and Kakarot is as strong as you say then lets see him overpower my magic and wake you up."

Miira began sending bolts of electricity throughout Cheena's body causing the young saiyan to scream out in pain. Nightmare once again became reality as everyone watched Cheena's real body jerk from electrical shock and her screaming in her sleep. Soon she was yelling out Kakarot's name for help.

Almost immediately after she called out his name, Kakarot awoke and stood up from the scanner.

"Bulma shut the machine off and wake Cheena up! She's in trouble!" Videl ordered frantically.

Bulma looked at her worryingly, "I've already shut her machine off and she still wont wake."

Kakarot jumped over to her and placed his hands on her body causing the bolts to travel through his body, "Cheena wake up! Its me, Kakarot! Come on wake up for me!"

Cheena could faintly hear Kakarot's plea, "Kakarot…" She mumbled softly.

Miira was amazed she was starting to lose her control so soon, "Shut up, you stupid girl!"

Kakarot kept pleading and pleading but she wasn't waking up, pretty soon he was screaming to the top of his lungs, "CHEENA WAKE UP PLEASE!" He shouted so loud.

When that didn't work he started to cry, each tear falling onto her cheeks, "Please…"

Those tears were all it took to break Miira's control. Before Miira knew what was happening she was forced out of Cheena's dream and suddenly appeared in the real world. Goten, Goku, Gohan, and the others barely caught a glimpse of her before she disappeared. They turned their attention back to Cheena who was slowly waking up.

"Kakarot…" Cheena whispered weakly.

Kakarot couldn't help but smile, "You're okay, right?"

Cheena nodded, "Just tired and my neck hurts."

Kakarot kneeled down and put his arms around her, "She's going to pay, Cheena. I'll get her for this, I wont let her get away with hurting you."

Goten was even more amazed with the level of protectiveness Kakarot had for his cousin. In that moment he recalled his father's words about how he knew where Cheena and Kakarot's future would take them, and looked at Goku. Goku in turn looked at Goten and gave him a reassuring smile.

"What did you find out, son?" Goku asked Goten.

Goten snapped out of his thoughts about his son and niece and answered, "Her name is Miira and well…she's interested in Kakarot and I for some reason, but I think its obvious she doesn't like Cheena too well."

Goten looked at Kakarot holding Cheena and whispered to his father, "And I think you and I have a pretty good idea why, father."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** I had some free time tonight so I decided to hurry up and post this chapter tonight. Enjoy and review and if you don't mind spread the word around about this story if you like it so other people can enjoy it.

Exhausted from the day's events everyone just decided to spend the night at capsule corporation. Bulma was with the other adults in the kitchen going over the results with everyone. The things she was telling them worried everyone.

"I hate to say it, but there really isn't much I know to do about this problem right now." Bulma admitted.

"You can't figure out any sort of solution?" Asked Gohan.

She shook her head, "As you saw Miira is a real woman. She's not just a figment of anyone's imagination or some kind of illusion created by the saiyan brain during sleep. If this was just something to do with the brain then yeah I could figure something out probably, but Miira is obviously using magic to get into your dreams. I'm a scientist so unfortunately magic is out of league.

"So how do we protect ourselves from her while we sleep. Sure we could stay awake until we figure something out but we have to all sleep sometime." Goten stated.

Goku thought it over and smiled, "I got it! We can ask Master Roshi's sister, Fortuneteller Baba! She's an expert with magic, surely she can tell us something."

Roza looked confused, "Master Roshi, the old pervert has a sister? She's not anything like him, is she?" Roza asked.

Goten couldn't help but laugh, "No, she's a good friend of my dad. She lives in the west desert. She's a witch and works for King Yemma in Other World to help guide the souls of the dead from the living world to Other World where they will either be sent to hell or sent to planet heaven so their souls can be protected."

Roza smiled, "I see. Wow you and your family have met a lot of interesting people."

"Tomorrow morning I'll go to see here, right now thought we should all try and get some sleep." Goku said.

Videl looked concerned, "But what if Miira tries to attack one of us in our dreams…well I guess the only one is danger of being attacked is Cheena."

Goku smiled reassuringly, "Videl, I wouldn't worry about her too much. Kakarot is in her room asleep with her. If anything happens Kakarot will be right there and you know as well as I do that little boy would never let anything bad happen to Cheena."

"He is really protective of her. I guess you're right." Videl said.

Goku smiled again, "Speaking of which I'm going to go check on the kids."

Goten jumped out of his chair, "I think I'll go with you, dad."

Once the father and son duo were down a dark hall and away from the rest of the group Goten asked, "So you and I both know why Miira is targeted Cheena, right? And am I correct you've known about the reason for awhile?"

Goku nodded, "Your son cares about Cheena more than anyone, you know that. Its not an accident that Cheena and Kakarot were born on the same day. Some things are destined to happen, Goten, I've learned that over the years. If I'm right then Miira probably figured out those two are destined to be apart of each other's lives forever. Miira wants Kakarot for some reason so she is bound and determined to get Cheena out of the way. If Cheena is taken out of the picture then Kakarot would fall into despair and he would be so much easier to control and manipulate. But as long as Cheena is around, Kakarot has someone to fight for with all his might."

Goten stopped and clenched his fist, "Damn that woman. I had 15 years taken away from me, I lost some of the best years of my life. All I wanted for Kakarot was to be able to enjoy what I never got to enjoy. Now that stupid bitch is trying to ruin it all for him. I wont let it happen, next time I see her I'm going to kill her somehow."

Goku placed his hand on Goten's shoulder, "I know, son. But calm down, you can't do anything tonight."

"I know dad…I know." Goten kept walking with his dad following until the two were standing outside the bedroom where Kakarot and Cheena were sleeping.

They stepped inside and looked at the two kids cuddled up to each other, their tails wrapped around each other. When Goten reached down to stroke his son's bangs out of his eyes, Goten's hand touched Cheena's arm which prompted an interesting response from his sleeping son.

Kakarot held onto Cheena tighter and mumbled, "Mine!" In a possessive tone.

Goten was surprised by his son's response. Goten looked at Goku and Goku only smiled and winked. Goten couldn't help but wonder if his father knew more about Cheena and Kakarot then he was revealing.

Goten had left to go to a guest bedroom of his own. Goku stood there watching his grandchildren sleep and smiled.

"Kakarot, you take care of her. You both need to take care of each other." Goku whispered.

Cheena cuddled up closer to Kakarot and she too whispered in her sleep, "Mine!"

Goku smiled and left his grandkids to sleep peacefully. As he was walking downstairs to get a late night snake before bed he stopped and hid behind a wall to listen in on a conversation between Vegeta and Roza who were standing in the living room alone.

"So the lady in red is real." Vegeta stated.

Roza sighed, "I guess all legends and fairy tales have their beginning in truth of some kind. But why was she bothering saiyan kids in their sleep to begin with on Planet Vegeta, and why as she suddenly after all these years decided to burden saiyans on Earth?"

Vegeta clenched his fist, "I've got a question of my own, why is she being such a coward? Using dreams to hide herself and attack people in their own subconscious."

"Prince Vegeta, surely your father must have known something about this." Roza asked.

Vegeta shook his head, "No, my mother and father believed it to be a fairy tale as well. I did too even though I also experienced nightmares about her when I was a kid."

"Really? Me too!" Roza told him.

Vegeta thought about everything that had happened and recalled the nightmares about the lady in red he had while he lived on Planet Vegeta, "Who would have thought that such childish nightmares, such a ridiculous fairy tale, would turn out to be real."

"At least we know one thing, her appetite for evil is growing. Before she would only bother saiyan children in their dream and if their dreams were anything like mine it was only simple scare tactics she used in our nightmares. Now she's not only attacking saiyan adults like Goten, but she's also becoming more violent and sadistic. On top of that she's no longer shy about letting her existence as a real being be known." Roza explained.

"I suggest we both get some sleep, Roza. One thing is for sure, if that witch tries to get into my dreams I assure you the only one who will experience nightmare will be her." He smirked before walking off to bed.

Goku had hidden in a closet so Vegeta wouldn't spot him. Goku couldn't deny he was worried. It was easy to fight a physical enemy he could punch or throw ki blast at, but how could he fight someone in a nightmare. Somehow he had to keep Miira outside of their dreams and in the physical world where he could actually damage her.

Pan and Trunks had stayed up late into the night talking to one another. They were having a nice time together. These days they didn't need to go out to a city or the beach or anything, all they needed to do to have a good time now was just being together talking like this. Everything was fine until Pan started to cry softly.

"Pan, what's wrong?" Trunks asked out of concern.

Pan shook her head, "Nothing, I'm just worried about Cheena, Kakarto, and my Uncle Goten. I think I'm going to go to bed now." Pan got up and left to go find a bedroom to say in. She was gone before Trunks could say anything else.

Once Pan was alone in a bedroom she fell onto the bed and cried, "I'm such stupid little girl. I can't believe this. He's a year older than my Uncle Goten, and I'm just barely an adult now. I can't believe I'm…."

She took a deep breath and finally admitted to herself, "I'm falling in love with Trunks."

The next morning Goku was at Fortuneteller Baba's place to see what she had to say. Baba was very interested in what had happened and was eager to help Goku.

"I can tell you this, you're dealing with a witch like myself. Dream magic of this level isn't something most people can learn, only highly experienced witches can actually take their physical self and enter someone's dreams, let alone the dreams of multiple people." Baba explained.

Goku only became more concerned, "So she's really powerful right, but not as strong as you, right Baba?"

Baba shook her head, "Goku, I've been a witch for over a hundred years and I have never been able to master the ability to physically enter dreams. What we're dealing with her is a witch that has been training for hundreds possibly thousands of years."

Goku's eyes widened, "No way. What can we do?"

"I don't know how much this will help but try these." Baba handed Goku items that looked like dream catchers.

Goku looked interested, "What will these do?"

"They may look like dream catchers and I suppose you could call them that but they are much more advanced than that. A dream catcher normally catches nightmares, however these little trinkets are like dream sealers. These little items have been known however to sort of close off the passage where dreams come through, thus creating a dreamless sleep which if I'm right should prevent Miira from having a doorway to enter your family's dreams." Baba explained.

"Thank you Baba." Goku said gratefully.

"Since she only seems interested in saiyans have each one of your saiyan friends where these like a necklace while they sleep and hopefully will work. Meanwhile I'm going to Other World to check some records. A witch as powerful as her surely was employed by King Yemma at some point." Baba told him.

Goku nodded, "Thank you for all your help, Baba."

"Wait Goku, one more thing. I took a little peek into Cheena and Kakarot's future. Now of course you know the future can change so none of this is set in stone but you guessed absolutely right about where those two are heading." Baba said with a smile.

Goku smiled back, "That's comforting to know. That's how it should be." With that Goku took off back home.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** I decided to let this chapter focus on two characters, and then the next chapter will focus on two other characters. Its time for some character development. Enjoy and review everyone!

Kakarot was laying on his bed playing with his dream necklace, "I find it rather unlikely that these necklaces are going to stop that stupid red lady."

Cheena was loosening up her hair by untying her red hair ribbon when Kakarot's words sent a chill down her spine, "You mean she could still hurt us."

Kakarot jumped out of bed and smiled, "Hey don't let my white loose t-shirt and blue pajamas fool you, I'm ready for battle at a moment's notice. If she shows up again I'll stop her. You don't need any necklace to protect you, you've got me."

Cheena turned around and looked into his eyes, "You mean that, you can protect me?"

Kakarot nodded, "I will. There's a reason your dad and mom decided to let you sleep over at my house. I overheard them talking to my mom and dad. Your dad explained that since Miira is after me and my dad, that she wouldn't hurt us, so you would be safer with us. Your mom also said she could think of no one else besides your dad that would protect you with such passion." Kakarot blushed as he said that last sentence.

She stepped closer to him and took her cousin's hand into her own, "Kakarot…I trust you…you've always protected me before, so I know you wont let anything bad happen to me this time either."

Kakarot's expression turned serious and he pulled her head into his chest, "Do you feel safe like this?"

Cheena blushed and nodded, "I do, there's nowhere else I feel safer."

Kakarot nodded, "Then lets try and get a goodnight's sleep. You relax tonight and know if anything happens I'll be right there to bring you back to the safety you feel now."

The two saiyan cousins found themselves cuddled under Kakarot's blanket but neither could fall asleep. There was a strange silence between them. Then Cheena broke it.

"Kakarot…in ten years where do you think we'll be?" Cheena asked.

Kakarot was a little surprised by such a question but answered, "Well we will be 15 years old, and other then that I guess things will remain the same. We'll still be a team and I'll be beating the crap out of anyone who tries to hurt you."

"Am I ever going to be of any use to you?" Cheena said rather sad.

Kakarot was really surprised by that, "What do you mean?"

"You always protect me, every single time I'm in trouble. I always think I can protect myself, but no matter what its always been you there to protect me. When am I ever going to be able to help you?" She said with tears almost forming in her eyes.

Kakarot used his finger to dry her eyes before she could cry and answered, "Don't you talk like that. You're right I do always protect you, I do always fight to keep you safe, but every hero gets tired and needs someone to come to for rest. Moments like this when its just you and me together is when I'm the happiest."

"I make you happy?" She asked.

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah. So you see you do enough for me."

"If making you happy is all I ever do, then I'm just fine with that." She said honestly and smiled.

She cuddled herself up closer to him. When she was with Kakarot she felt something she didn't feel with anyone else. When her dad held her she felt safe, but it wasn't the same with Kakarot. When Kakarot holds her she felt safe but she also felt something strange with him, the only way she could describe this feeling was like….like she always wanted to be with him and if she could be with just him it was all going to be alright. Of course Cheena and Kakarot were still too young to understand what they were feeling, but both of them had the same powerful emotions toward each other.

Holding her like this, feeling Cheena's breath against him, this was all he ever needed. Most kids his age wanted to grow up to be super heroes or something, all he wanted was to be with Cheena forever. Kakarot watched as she fell asleep in his arms. Like a reflex his wrapped his tail around her waist and smiled. What was this incredible connection he felt toward her? Something inside of Kakarot yearned for her. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and closed his eyes.

"Cheena…I…" Kakarot whispered to his sleeping cousin.

Kakarot held her tighter and felt himself starting to sweat for some reason. He could feel his heart beating so fast, his body temperature rising so quickly.

"What is happening to me? No…whatever this is I've felt it for awhile." He thought to himself.

Then Kakarot did something most boys his age would think is gross. Kakarot kissed the top of Cheena's head, just an innocent little kiss on the top of her head, and it felt so natural. After that he calmed down and his body returned to normal. He began to fall asleep.

In his sleep he once again whispered as he had done nights before, "Mine…" As he held Cheena safely in his arms.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:** Like I said, second chapter focusing on two other characters. After this chapter I'm moving the story into the final part of this stage of the story. I guess you could call everything that has happened so far in this story "The Lady in Red Arc" lol. So expect something surprising in the next chapter. But don't worry the story has just barely begun, there is a long ways before the story ends, I'd say this one is probably going to be longer than Robbed. Enjoy and review everyone!

Pan was leaving school looking at her algebra test, "I can't believe this…I've been doing good all year and now I went and made a 43? I'm so stupid." She said to herself.

"School isn't everything, Pan." Said a familiar male voice.

Pan looked up to see Trunks and sighed, "Hey Trunks. Its everything when I was so close to graduating. My mom and dad are going to be so disappointed. Stupid algebra. I'm do really well in every other class but I just can't do well enough in Algebra."

Trunks flew down next to her and smiled, "Pan, listen to me. Don't be so hard on yourself. Look you still have your final exam right? What's your average in the class so far?"

Pan looked down, "76...a C."

Trunks nodded, "Alright so you need to at least make an 80 to keep that and anything 70 or above is passing, right? Okay that doesn't sound too bad. I'll help you study."

Pan smiled, "Thank you, Trunks. But lets face it, I'm never going to understand this stuff."

Trunks sighed and smiled, "You sound like your uncle Goten when he was in school."

"What do you mean?" Pan asked curiously.

Trunks closed his eyes and thought back to when Goten was 14, only a year before he was sent to prison. "Your uncle was never very good at school. Not just algebra but a lot of the other stuff. He always tried to please his mom so much. See your grandma didn't push Goten as much as she did Gohan when it came to school. Goten for awhile thought that his mom believed he wasn't as smart as Gohan or just stupid so Goten was bound to prove her wrong. He always beat himself up about school. It wasn't too much later his mother told him the truth."

"So what was the truth?" Pan asked curiously again.

Trunks looked at her and answered, "Chi-Chi told Goten that after Goku died she realized how short life was and she didn't want to force her dreams onto Goten so she wanted him to be free to be a happy normal kid. To be who he is inside."

Pan looked confused, "Well I'm glad that all got worked out but how does this tie into me."

Trunks smiled, "What I'm saying is that not everyone is good at algebra, but everyone has their own talents they are good at. My point is be yourself Pan, you're mom and dad will love you regardless. Plus I like you just the way you are."

Pan smiled and blushed, "Thanks Trunks."

"So lets get out of here and get a bite to eat. I'm hungry." Trunks smiled and punched her shoulder lightly.

The two friends stopped at Dairy Queen for some cheeseburgers, "So Pan what are you going to do after high school, go to college?"

Pan shrugged, "I don't really know yet. I've been wondering lately what I would be good at."

Trunks smiled, "You'll find something. I know what I got to do next."

"What's that?" Pan asked.

Trunks smiled, "I need to get married."

Pan's eyes widened, "Married! So do you already have someone picked out."

Trunks blushed and scratched the back of his head, "Sort of…"

Pan looked down and simply mumbled sadly, "Oh…"

Trunks looked at Pan, "What?"

Pan stood up, "Thanks for lunch, Trunks. I think I better get home before I worry my parents…"

Pan tried making her way to the door quickly but Trunks stopped her, "What did I say wrong…"

"You're wrong about me….I am a stupid little child. I'm stupid for believing you would actually…." Pan couldn't finish her sentence.

"What? Say it." He told her.

Pan turned around and slapped him drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

A little boy looked at his momy and asked, "Mom, why did that girl slap that guy?"

The mother sighed and patted her son's head, "Because he broke her heart." She said amazed at how blind the lavender haired boy was to the girl's feelings.

Trunks looked at Pan and asked shockingly, "What was that for."

"You big dumb idiot!" Pan shouted. "You want to know the truth? Here it is alright…I love you…there…I said it…" Pan walked outside after saying that but Trunks followed.

"Pan wait a second! Who do you think I was talking about? Don't you get you fisty girl? I was talking about you!"

Pan turned around and looked at him in anger, "That is so lame, Trunks. You expect me to believe that. You're just saying that so I would feel better. Why would a 36 year old man be interested in a naïve little brat like me? I'm the one with a stupid crush on you…"

Trunks grabbed her arm and pulled her close, "Don't argue okay?" He said softly. "You want proof? Then here" Without warning he planted a passion kiss on her lips.

Pan was in a daze after that, "Trunks…you shouldn't be kissing me like that? I'm too young for you."

"Who cares. Honestly Pan, who really cares?" Trunks stepped back and opened his arms for her, "If you really don't want us to be together and walk off. Go ahead and leave."

Pan started to walk away but then her saiyan pride melted and her human heart took over. She ran back to him and planted her face into his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe I'm stupid for letting myself fall in love with you…but I don't really give a damn. If being stupid feels this good then I don't want to be smart." Pan said as she cuddled her face into his chest.

"I think this is the smartest choice both of us have ever made." He whispered to her.

Everyone in the Dairy Queen was watching inside and everyone said at once as they watched the two hybrid saiyans hold each other, "Awww!"

"What do you say we get out of here and I'll show you how much I love you?" Trunks asked with a smile.

Pan blushed, "I'd like that."

With that the two saiyans took their leave and flew off to a secluded spot in a field of flowers. As the day disappeared and night approached the two lovers spent the night in that field making love to one another. Through the night they lay close to one another asleep under the star filled sky.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** I've been waiting to get to this chapter for awhile, now its going to get more adventurous. Sorry this has taken so long to get up, i've been busy with college but now that this semester is over, I have all summer to write up chapters. Review as always.

As soon as the sun arose the following morning Trunks was going to take Pan home, but the three Son family homes were empty. So the two lovers decided to fly to Capsule Corporation. What they saw when they got there took them by surprise. A crowd of news reporters were gathered outside Capsule Corp.

"What is going on, Trunks?" Pan asked.

Trunks shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure…"

As soon as Trunks and Pan landed the reporters turned around began to ask questions.

"Mr. Trunks Briefs, is it true your dating this young lady. A girl almost have your age? How do you respond?" A bunch of reporters began asking similar questions.

"How did you guys even find out about that! That is my business and no one else's." Trunks told them.

"TRUNKS!" Bulma shouted from the entrance of her home.

Trunks and Bulma jumped over the reporters and dashed past Bulma into the house. Bulma quickly locked the door to keep the annoying media out.

Bulma sighed and then looked at Trunks angrily, "So I here that you and Pan are together?"

"How did everyone find out?" Trunks asked.

Bulma flipped on the TV and Entertainment Tonight was one, "The big news of the day is that Trunks Brief, son of Bulma Brief, and heir to Capsule Corporation was caught kissing a young black haired girl certainly around half of Trunks' age. Of course its no secret Trunks' heart is sought after by many adoring fans, but to learn that Trunks has chosen someone so young has really stirred up talk in the gossip world."

Trunks saw the video of him kissing Pan in the Dairy Queen parking lot and gripped his fist, "Reporters…they're lurking everywhere!"

Vegeta looked at his son and grunted, "Honestly Trunks, you had to pick one of Kakarot's grandkids?"

Trunks sighed, "Dad…"

"I don't have a problem with him dating a girl from Goku's family, but its just Pan is so much younger than you. I mean the media is trying to paint you as a pervert." Bulma explained to her son.

Trunks sighed, "Can't we just use the dragon balls to erase everyone's memories of this?"

Bulma shook her head, "You know that would be misusing their power. We only use those items to fix bad things that shouldn't have happened, like innocent lives being taken."

Gohan glared at Trunks, "Listen Trunks, you and I need to talk but not right now."

Goten looked at everyone and said, "Guys, we need to focus on getting Kakarot back!"

Trunks and Pan looked shocked, "Kakarot is missing!" Pan asked.

Goten nodded as he tried to calm Roza down. Roza was trying to keep herself together, she knew that was the best thing for Kakarot, but she couldn't help but let a few tears escape her eyes.

"Roza, I'm going to get our baby boy back! I will track that bitch down, kill her, and bring Kakarot back to you." Goten promised.

Roza shook her head, "We don't even know where to start looking, Goten. How are you going to find him?"

Goten looked down, she had a point.

Trunks looked worried, "So Miira kidnapped him? What happened?" Trunks asked.

Goten looked up at his best friend and explained the events of last night, "We thought the dream catcher necklaces we wore would be enough to keep Miira out of our dreams. We were wrong. I was the first one to have a nightmare last night."

"What about?" Trunks asked.

Goten glared at Trunks and sent him a telepathic message, "It's the type of nightmare I would rather not mention to my wife."

Trunks nodded, "So uh, who was the next one to have a nightmare."

"I was." Roza admitted.

She began to explain, "It was dark…I was in a graveyard. And…"

**Flashback to Roza's Dream:**

"Where am I? How did I get here? I'm supposed to be in bed, not in a graveyard." Roza was worried but her saiyan heritage wouldn't let her be scared of something as simple as a graveyard.

"I missed you, daughter." Said a male.

Roza turned around to see a horrific figure. It was her father, Turles. But he wasn't alive, but also he wasn't dead. He was undead, not a zombie, but a walking corpse with its soul trapped inside unable to move on.

"D…Daddy?" Roza sounded stunned that her father was here before her.

Turles smirked, "Roza, why did you betray me? You were supposed to avenge me. You were supposed to torture Kakarot and his family mentally until they beg to die. Instead you go and marry his youngest brat and then you even have a child with him and if that isn't bad enough, you went and named your kid after that clown Kakarot."

Roza recalled the horrible thing her father almost did to Earth and looked at him with anger, "Well I sure as hell wasn't going to name him after you. What you did was wrong! Goku and his family had to stop you!"

Turles swung his fist and punched his daughter in the face, "Listen to yourself! You are a full blooded saiyan but you're acting so weak, just like Kakarot and his foolish family and friends. I thought my daughter would grow up to be an incredible saiyan warrior, ruthless and power hungry much like myself."

Roza shook her head as she cleaned the blood from her lips, "Father, what our race did was wrong. We destroyed countless innocent lives. You killed I don't know how many people. Its not right. Even if our race has the potential to become the strongest warriors the universe has ever known, super saiyans, that doesn't give us a right to hurt anyone weaker than us who is innocent. In fact we should use our power to protect the good people that are weaker than us!"

Turles had heard enough nonsense and forced his daughter against a wall, "If you don't stop talking like a foolish bitch I'll make sure you end up just like me! Dead!"

Roza saw a figure coming from the shadows and was stunned to see her brother and mother.

Ryo smirked, "Long time no see, big sister. Hear you got a nice little family now. That foolish half brother of mine, and the little brat you two made together."

Roza's mother grinned, "Oh come now, Ryo. You and Turles just don't realize how a saiyan woman handles business. Obviously she married Goten to get close to him, to make him trust her, what better way to gain his trust than to carry his child? Now she's just waiting for the moment to strike and slaughter that whole damn family."

Roza clenched her fist, "You're wrong! He's my husband and I love him and I'm happy I have a son with him! I once loved you, all of you, but then I saw the type of monsters you really are. Father, you're nothing but a savage space pirate. Brother, you and I were all each other had for so long, I was shown love from Goten and his family and my eyes were opened to the truth, your eyes were blinded, I just feel sorry for you. Last but not least, you mother, you lied to me and my brother, you made me hate Goten and his family, your lies led me down a path that would ruin his life and I will never forgive you for that. Now all of you…GO BACK TO THE HELL YOU CAME FROM!" Roza shouted and in an instant her old family was gone.

Roza looked up to see Miira standing in the dissolving smoke that appeared when her old family vanished. Miira smirked and giggled teasingly before disappearing.

**End of Flashback**

"After that I awoke to Goten trying to shake me awake. We both knew it was Miira that did this. The first thing we did was check on the kids. Cheena was in Kakarot's bedroom fast asleep but…Kakarot wasn't." Roza said sadly.

Goten pulled a red amulet out of his pocket, "When we got in his room all we found was an opened closet and this red jewel amulet in the floor."

Pan looked over at the hallway and saw her little sister standing there like she was about to cry. Pan walked over to Cheena and kneeled down in front of her.

"What's wrong, little sis?" Pan asked.

Cheena looked at her big sister and said, "I couldn't protect him. I was right next to him and he promise he would keep me safe, but he's gone now and its all my fault because I can never protect him, he's always the one saving me."

Pan knew how much Kakarot meant to Cheena. She hugged her little sister and tried to comfort her, "We'll get him back. This isn't your fault. Kakarot is strong, you know that. He can handle himself."

Cheena nodded, "Promise me that?"

Pan nodded back, "Of course." Pan hoped that promise could be kept.

Goku took the amulet from his son, "Alright, I'm going to pay another visit to Baba. She said Miira is a witch so if this amulet has anything to do with her or Kakarot going missing, then Baba may be able to tell us something about it."

Goten nodded, "Okay dad."

In a mysterious realm, in a dark crimson stoned castle with spirals, thorns, and spikes sticking out of different places, a brave five year old saiyan walked silently down the hall, clenching his blood soaked left sleeve. Finally he stopped as he entered a room and approached a throne where the woman he hated more than anything sat.

Miira looked at her prize and smirked, "Red is a good color on you." She said looking at his blood soaked sleeve.

Kakarot gritted his teeth, "I'm here now. Just like you wanted, I came to you. Now you have to hold up your end of the deal and never bother Cheena or my family again."

Miira nodded, "Of course, after all it was either you or your father I wanted. Now that I have you there is no need to pester that annoying family of yours. Just so long as Cheena is out of the way. Of course you still have some growing to do before we can do what I have planned. Until then…relax."

Kakarot was taken by surprise as ki binding chains shot up from small holes in the floor and wrapped themselves around his body, cutting off his ki. The young saiyan was forced to his knees.

Miira approached the child and lifted his head up. She grinned and kissed his forehead, "Get used to this. This castle is your home now, and I will be your only companion for the rest of your life. Now get a good night sleep in the dungeon and I assure you there want be any nightmares to bother you tonight." She laughed.

A hole opened in the floor and Kakarot fell to the bottom into a wet, cold, dark dungeon. He landed on his knees hard, bruising them.

Tears made their way slowly down his pale cheeks, "This hurts…but she's safe now. Cheena, I would really like to be at home right now with you, but I like I said…I will always protect you and if this is what it takes to keep you safe then okay, I'll suffer here, the rest of my life if I have to."

Kakarot recalled the events of last night.

**Flashback of Kakarot's Nightmare and that Night's Events:**

Kakarot had fallen asleep with Cheena cuddled in his arms just like many nights before. Then as soon as he had drifted off to sleep the nightmare began. He found himself in his bedroom but Cheena wasn't next to him. He jumped out of bed and called for her but no answer came. Kakarot saw the bathroom light was on. He hurried into the bathroom and saw a sickening scene. The bath water was filled with blood. When he pulled back the shower curtain there was Miira grinning like a savage animal.

"Hello Kakarot, you're just in time for dinner." Miira said sadistically.

Miira pulled Cheena's body from the water, her neck had been eaten partially. She was bleeding like crazy. There was no doubt Cheena was dead.

Kakarot froze in fear, "No…no….NOOOO!" Tears rolled down his face.

Miira grinned, "If you don't want to wake up tomorrow morning and find this nightmare has become a reality, then I suggest you use my the gift I gave you years ago to come to me."

With that Kakarot awoke from his sleep, sweating and breathing like crazy. He looked over at Cheena and then a deep sadness washed over him.

"Cheena…I can't stop Miira. I can't beat her. So if giving away my freedom is what it takes to keep you safe then I don't have a choice." Kakarot whispered to his sleeping cousin.

Kakarot jumped out of bed and put on his blue and white gi. He opened his closet and took out a red jewel amulet that Miira had given him years ago back when she started to be his imaginary friend. She said that this item was the way he could reach her. But he could never get it to work. Now he realized what he had to do to make it work. Miira was called the lady in red for a reason. Blood…she's obviously obsessed with blood and perhaps it was a blood sacrifice that needed to be paid to get to Miira.

Kakarot turned to Cheena and leaned over her. He watched her sleep like an angel and smiled.

"I'm going to miss you. Maybe I'll find a way to kill Miira one day and come back home. Until then…" Kakarot leaned down and kissed her cheek, "See ya, cousin."

Kakarot walked over to the closet and jabbed the amulet into his arm, creating a deep gash. He gritted his teeth in pain and was stunned to see his plan worked. A portal opened in front of him. With one last look at Cheena he made his way into the portal. As soon as he was inside, the portal closed. The amulet he left behind in his room.

**End of Flashback**

Kakarot closed his eyes, "Please Cheena…don't come looking for me. Just stay home and stay safe." He slowly cried himself asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** Now the fun part begins. Review and enjoy as always!

Goku explained everything to Baba. The witch was saddened to hear that Kakarot had gone missing and that her dream charms had failed.

"Did you find out anything about Miira in the Other World records?" Goku asked his old friend.

She shook her head, "Sorry Goku, I couldn't find a single file on any witch named Miira. Its very strange. Almost every witch is employed by King Yemma. Its rare you ever find a rogue witch."

"Why is that?" Goku asked curiously.

"Well you see witches take on apprentices, and then once they are fully trained we pass our powers and our job onto them. You don't sign up to work for Other World you don't get to learn our magic. So where could she have learned it from?" Baba openly wondered.

Goku pulled the red amulet from his pocket, "Baba, we found this in Kakarot's room. Do you have any idea what this is?"

Baba was startled by the strange object and nodded, "Oh yes, I know exactly what that is. That is a blood sacrifice transportation amulet. A dark artifact."

Baba cleared her throat, "As the name suggest it's a stone that requires you to sacrifice your own blood to transport to a very dark place."

"What place?" Goku felt worried now.

Baba began to explain, "As you know there is the Universe, Other World, and the Supreme Kai Realm. But there are other places as well, realms which not even the Supreme Kai knows very much about. One of these realms is the demon realm, which you know Dabura came from. Another one of these realms you have had experience with is the Dead Zone. There are probably other dark realms which we have never even heard of."

Goku was beginning to get the picture, "So these amulets can open portals to these dark realms? All you have to do is give a sacrifice of blood."

Baba nodded, "But its not like you have to give just a pint of blood or something. These things require a large amount of blood. Other World wanted them destroyed because we feared that if our enemies were to be able to cross to and from these dark realms they could use those realms as bases to plot a takeover the entire universe."

"But if we use this we'll be able to get to whatever realm Kakarot was taken to, right?" Goku asked.

Baba answered, "You should be able to. But Goku, you don't even know what will be waiting for you."

Goku gripped his fist, "Sorry Baba, but my grandson needs me."

She sighed, "Well I can't stop you, all I can do is wish you good luck."

"Thanks Baba. I'm going to go and tell the others." Goku took off back to Capsule Corp.

Goku explained everything that Baba had told him. Without any hesitation Goten and Gohan stood up.

"Alright lets go then. Lets go get my son." Goten said with anger for Miira.

Gohan nodded, "And she hurt my daughter, I wont let her get away with that."

Roza stood up and kissed Goten's cheek then cuddled her head into his chest, "Promise me you'll come back with our baby, please. I would go with you but the more people who have with you the greater chance you have of getting caught. Just please promise me you'll bring our boy back home safe?"

Goten wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of his wife's head, "I promise, I wont come back until I have him in my arms safe and sound. I'll make sure to give Miira a special kick in the ass just for you. I love you."

Roza dried the tears that were trying to escape her eyes and nodded, "Now go and kick some ass, because if you don't I'll be sure to kick your ass when you get back." She tried to joke.

Goten kissed her again, "You got it baby."

Cheena walked over to her dad and said, "Daddy…I'm going too."

Videl shook her head, "No your not! There is no telling what kind of danger could be in wherever they have to go. Besides Miira will try and hurt you for sure, you know that Cheena."

Cheena looked into her mother's eyes and said, "Mom…I'm not asking your permission, okay. I'm going no matter what you or dad says. Kakarot is always protecting me and this time he's in a lot of trouble because he was trying to protect me from that stupid witch. Its my fault he's gone, so I have to go and help him. I owe him that for all the times he's defended me."

Videl was taken back by her daughter's commitment toward her cousin, "He really means a lot to you, doesn't he? Alright…I can't stop you. You're a lot stronger and faster than I am, but your father has to approve first."

Gohan kneeled down and looked his daughter in the eyes and said, "I'll let you come with us because I know how close you and Kakarot are, but you have to promise me you'll do everything I say, Cheena. If I say run you run. If I tell you to take the amulet and get back home and leave me and Uncle Goten behind then you do it. Okay Cheena?"

She nodded, "Alright daddy."

Videl looked at Gohan and said, "Please take care of her…"

Gohan nodded, "We'll all be back home before you know it."

Goku couldn't help but take pride in how great of fathers his sons had become and how brave and dedicated his youngest granddaughter was. "Gohan, Goten, I wont be making this journey with you."

"Why not dad?" Goten questioned.

Goku put his hand on his son's shoulder and answered, "You and your older brother have grown into incredible men. You don't need me anymore to guide you in battle. I know you can both handle this. Besides I need to be here for your mother."

Goten jerked when he said that last part. The hybrid saiyan realized his mother had never come down from the bedroom upstairs and he wondered why. "Is mom okay, dad?"

Goku nodded, "She'll be okay. You and your brother just focus on rescuing that grandson of mine, okay?"

Goten nodded, "Right dad."

Goten pulled out the amulet and gritted his teeth, "This is going to hurt like crazy…"

Before Goten could stab himself he felt a hand take the amulet away. He opened his eyes to see Vegeta now with the amulet.

"You need to be at the top of your game when you arrive at wherever your going. Let me do this." Vegeta said with a encouraging smile.

He stepped into the kitchen so the girls wouldn't have to watch the gruesome act. In a few seconds they heard a small growl of pain which they could tell Vegeta was trying to hold back how much it had actually hurt. He threw the amulet from the kitchen back into the living room, Goten caught it. A few seconds later it began to glow and then a crimson portal colored portal opened in front of them.

Goten took a deep breath and smiled back at his family and friends, "Have dinner ready for us when we get back!" He said happily to try and reassure everyone, especially Roza, that everything was going to be alright.

Gohan picked Cheena up and said, "Hold on tight baby girl."

The three jumped into the portal. In a moment the portal closed in front of everyone else.

Roza whispered softly, "Good luck…"

It didn't take too long before Goten, Gohan, and Cheena found themselves on the other end of the portal outside of a reddish castle decorated with spikes and encircled by a mote full of a acid like water. The castle seemed to be located in the middle of a dark green forest, and the sky above was red mixed with a little bit of purple.

"Well this place is certainly homey, isn't?" Goten commented.

Gohan examined the area around them and said, "I wonder where we are? I don't think this is the dead zone…maybe it's the demon realm."

"Actually your in crimson space." A creepy little voice answered.

The trio turned around to see where that voice had come from and Cheena was a little shocked at what she saw, "What in the world is that thing?"

It was a tiny eye ball with bat wings and it had an evil sparkle in its eye, "My name is Kinisigh and I'm one of the watchers of Yomi castle. The realm you find yourselves in is called Crimson Space. Its called that because of the crimson colored atmosphere which contains a special kind of energy known as red Daibo that was left over after the big bang that created your universe. This energy is the manifestation of the violent force of the big bang and eventually it gathered together to form this realm. That is why it is constantly storming in the sky. Very few places are actually safe from the immense storm, one of them being this castle which is protected by a magic barrier created by my mistress. As you can guess it makes them realm a very harsh enviroment, perfect to keep out intruders."

"However you three seemed to have somehow arrived here inside of the barrier." Kinisigh said and focused on the amulet in Goten's hand. "Where did you get that my dear boy?"

Goten held the object tighter, "My son left it behind."

Kinisigh eye widened, "Oh I see, so you must be that boy's father. My mistress is very much obsessed with you and your son. Since she already has your son captured inside the castle I'm afraid your no longer of use to her so I can't let you ruin all the delicious plans she has in store for that little boy."

Goten was starting to get pissed off real bad, "Listen you flying eyesore, unless you want me to blind you I suggest you tell me where in that castle she's got my son!"

"Make me." The floating eye mocked.

"Fine then, you asked for it!" Goten started to fire a ki blast at Kinisigh but the flying pest was quicker and shot an eye beam straight at Goten's hand. It caught him by surprised since he didn't think the monster could use ki.

The amulet fell out of Goten's hand and Kinisigh took his chance to grab it. "Oh how perfect! Without this you can't get home and now there is no way for you to escape the dangers of Yomi castle! I can't wait to watch to see how you will all die. Will you be eaten alive by one of the many monsters? Or perhaps you'll become lost in the endless maze like structure of the castle and slowly die of starvation. Either way its going to be so much fun to watch."

The little pest's constant laughing was really starting to tick Cheena off, "Hey Kinisigh…what so funny?" Cheena kicked some dirt into the air and it went straight into Kinisigh's eye.

Goten used his ki to slice the pest in half and take back the amulet, "Nice thinking, Cheena."

"He shouldn't underestimate me just because I'm a little girl. Now lets go and get Kakarot." Cheena said as he walked passed her uncle and father and began to fly over the acid filled mote.

Gohan was curious about his daughter's sudden attitude change. He had never seen her like this before. Then again there had never been a time when she was the one trying to rescue Kakarot. Until now Gohan had hadn't realized just how much Kakarot actually means to his daughter. He really did mean a lot to her.

"I wonder if those two….nah they're too young…" He whispered to himself.

Goten smiled, "Cheena has the right idea. Lets keep moving and get this over with. Come on, Gohan."

Gohan snapped out of his thoughts about Kakarot and Cheena and followed his little brother, "Yeah…right…I'm coming."

Kakarot was awoken from his slumber deep inside Yomi castle's dungeons by the sound of his prison cell creeping open. He looked to see Miira approaching him and she didn't look too happy.

"Kakarot, did you know that your daddy, uncle and your little bitch cousin just showed up outside my castle?" Miira asked in a mocking tone.

Kakarot was surprised, "What? But how?"

Suddenly Miira's mocking attitude turned into one of pure rage. She kicked the five year old across the room causing him to bounce off the stone wall, "You stupid little brat! I told you I would leave that slut of a cousin you care so much about alone if you didn't tell anyone you were coming here!"

"No! I didn't tell anyone I swear! I don't know how they got here!" Kakarot was telling the truth.

Miira spit on him and asked, "I know how they got here, dumb ass! They used that amulet I gave you. You must have left it behind when he entered the portal to get here. But you were the only one who knew how to use that thing so you must have told them! The only person that would have know anything about that amulet's power would have been another witch!"

"My grandpa has a lot of friends, maybe one of them is a witch." Kakarot tried to explain.

Miira smirked, "Well whatever the case, this just means more fun for me. You see I can't let them rescue you so guess what. I'm going to kill your uncle and cousin, and I may keep your father around in case I decide to use him instead of you for my plan. Either way I swear I'm going to torture them, especially that cousin you care so much for. Just imagine her screaming out your name as she goes through some of the most horrific tortures imaginable like for example…oh I don't know…ripping her tongue out or maybe I'll just jab my claws into her ears until she goes deaf." Miira started to get a sadistic grin on her face.

Kakarot was horrified by her words and begged, "No please! Don't do that to her! I'll do whatever you want just please don't hurt her please!" Kakarot cried as he pictured in his head everything that Miira said she would do to Cheena.

Miira smirked and walked toward the door, "See how much you care for her…so much so that just the thought of her suffering makes your heart cry out in pain….that is why I hate her. As long as she holds such a deep spot in your heart she'll always be in my way. I don't think even you realize just how much you care for her…I don't think your old enough to really understand these feelings you have for her…but I understand and I hate that you have those type of feelings for her….so she will pay for being so important to you…" With that Miira left Kakarot to wonder about the horrors Cheena would face if Miira caught her.

Kakarot screamed in rage, "Cheena…I didn't want you to come here…please go home…please dad, Uncle Gohan, Cheena…just go back home…"

What dangers await inside of Yomi castle for the trio sent to rescue Kakarot?


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:** I know this is kind of random, but I thought I would just give some more detail on what Cheena and Kakarot look like. I picture them looking like the Hero and Heroin saiyans from the arcade game "Dragon Ball Heroes" except Kakarot has a blue and white gi (Blue where the red is, white where the yellow is) and Kakarot's skin tone is a pale grey like Turles'. So you can look that up if you want to give you a better picture of them.

The large castle entrance made a horrible sound as Goten opened the door. The interior wasn't much better than the outside. Not too mention this place smelled like death.

"I can't believe they have my son locked up somewhere in a place like this. This place just keeps getting nastier." Goten commented out of disgust.

"Uncle Goten uh where do we go?" Cheena pointed ahead.

Goten looked forward and answered, "Uh…good question."

Before the trio were ten different doors, all of them looked exactly the same.

"I guess this what that one eyed pest was talking about when he mentioned a maze inside the castle. This whole place must be one big maze." Gohan figured.

Cheena looked at her father worried, "So how do we know which way is the right way to go, daddy?"

Gohan smiled and reassured his daughter, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Did you forget your dad is professor at one of the world's most prestigious universities? I've dealt with equations that will help us out here. Just let me figure this one out."

Goten smirked, "No way, I got this one."

"Uh Goten…maybe you really should let me figure this one out." Gohan tried to sound nice about this because he knew between the two of them Goten wasn't nearly as academically smart.

"Look Mr. college professor, you may have your little numbers and equations and all that jibber jabber but I played video games all the time as a kid and I play them every night with my son after dinner." Goten informed him.

"I don't mean to tell you how to raise your son, but is that really good parenting? I mean shouldn't he be learning stuff for when you put him in public school?" Gohan asked.

Goten sighed, "Oh chill out, I don't make Cheena do any studying either when she stays over at my house."

Gohan looked at Cheena and said, "Well that certainly explains why you like sleeping over at uncle Goten's house so much."

Cheena quickly got serious, "I stay over there because I like to be around Kakarot."

"Can we please get back to the problem at hand?" Goten interrupted. "Like I was saying, I play video games a lot and in some games like RPG's you'll find puzzles like this in the dungeons. So I think I can figure this out on my own."

Gohan decided to entertain his little brother's overconfidence, "Fine, you pick and I'll see if my calculations match."

Goten walked over to the doors and examined them closely, "Lets see they all are red and decorated with thorny black roses. Not exactly the most appealing color scheme but hey I'm not a fashion designer either. They all look like their designed and shaped the same way. Let's see…yep they all have the same number of petals and thorns. Well I'm stumped." Goten shrugged.

Gohan and Cheena both face palmed. "Okay Goten then we're doing this my. According to my calculations it the second door from the left."

"How do you figure that?" Goten asked.

Gohan scratched his nose and proudly said, "I would go into details but it would take too long to explain."

Cheena looked at the doors and smiled, "Dad, you're wrong."

"Uh? What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"Its the third door from the right." She tells them

"How do you know that?" Gohan asked again.

"Because daddy look at the edge of the door. The paint is starting to peal and the wood is slightly worn, showing its been used the most. While the other doors are in almost perfect condition. So the third door must be used by the bad guys all the time if its in this condition, and if the bad guys use it then it must be the safe door." Cheena explained.

Both Goten and Gohan were blushing out of embarrassment that they were outsmarted by a five year old. But Gohan was proud of his daughter, "You're so smart! Good job honey!"

"Thanks daddy. Now lets get Kakarot!" Cheena opened the door and she led the group as they made their way down the long hallway.

"Its weird." Goten mumbled.

"What's weird?" Gohan asked.

"If Kakarot is in this castle then why haven't we picked up on his ki signal yet?" Goten explained his concern.

Cheena looked worried, "You mean he might not really be here?"

Goten was starting to have the same thought, "That's what I worry about. What if they knew we would find that amulet and knew we would be coming, so they moved Kakarot somewhere else and this castle is actually one big trap they're waiting to spring on us?"

Gohan shook his head, "But you heard that annoying pest, he said in this realm the storms are so violent that this is practically the only place life can survive, and that's because of the barrier around the castle. So they couldn't have moved him anywhere else."

Goten leaned against the wall, "I've been thinking about that too. Kinisigh said the barrier protected the castle from the storms. But there was a massive dark green forest around this place so how come that forest hasn't been damaged by the storms at all?"

Gohan thought for a moment and answered, "Maybe the forest is just the form the barrier takes."

Goten thought about that and said, "Maybe…or maybe…the barrier is surrounding the forest too and protecting it."

Gohan's eyes widened in shock, "If that's true then we could be in big trouble! It would take a huge amount of magical power to create and sustain a barrier that size. That forest looked like it went on for as far as the eyes could see so the barrier around it must be enormous."

"What's your point? We're all three saiyans, you and I are super saiyan 2's, and you also have your mystic power the Elder Kai unlocked. What do we have to worry about when we face Miira?" Goten asked his brother.

Gohan answered, "Because we've never dealt with someone who can use that much magical power. Not even Babidi's magic would come even close to the type of magic we're talking about. We've never had to fight a magic wielding being of this caliber. We have no idea who would have the advantage in a ki vs. magic fight like that. For all we know Miira could lock our ki away and we wouldn't be able to stop her."

For the first time since they got here Goten was starting to worry about his chances at fighting Miira. He thought finding his son would be the hard part and fighting Miira would be easy. Now he wasn't so sure.

Their conversation was quickly interrupted as scratchy deep laughter was heard coming from the end of the hallway, "Oh I wouldn't worry about fighting my mistress just yet. First you have to get pass me and I assure you that wont happen, saiyans."

"How do they know we're saiyans?" Gohan wondered.

"Who's there!" Goten shouted.

The voice responed, "Come to me and find out!"

"Fine!" Goten ran as fast as he could down the hall.

"Wait Goten, you don't even know what you're getting into!" Gohan warned him as he and Cheena followed.

At the end of the hallway was a large circular room, but the creature that awaited them was something that shocked Goten.

"Oh God…what is that thing!" He said feeling like he was going to throw up.

As soon as Gohan and Cheena entered the room father and daughter both said, "Eeeeeww!"

Before them stood a massive black slimy slug as big as a house. It had two arms that resembled amphibian versions of crocodile claws.

"Glad you came! I am Slimo, the first of the crimson Triad!" The creature spoke.

"Crimson Triad?" Goten asked.

Slimo licked his lips, "That's right! The Crimson Triad are the three guardian monsters of Yomi Castle. But you wont have to worry about the other two because I'm about to turn you into slimy fleshy pulp and suck your remains into my tummy for lunch!"

"Daddy, I think I'm going to be sick." Cheena turned around to avoid looking at the disgusting slug.

Goten smirked, "You have no idea who you're messing with, pal."

He laughed mockingly, "Oh yes I do! You're saiyans! Well to be more specific your human/saiyan hybrids."

"How do you know about what we are?" Gohan questioned.

Slimo laughed proudly this time, "My mistress knows all about you! Did you think she would target you guys without knowing what she was dealing with? But you three jumped into this realm without knowing anything about it or what lurks here. So I think its you three that don't know who you're messing with!"

Goten gripped his fist, "Then how about I find out what I'm getting myself in to? Come on you disgusting freak! Let's do this!"

"Oh with pleasure!" Slimo answered.

"Wait Goten, lets not be too hasty!" Gohan shouted.

"Too late!" Slimo yelled as he lifted himself up and began to fall toward Goten.

Goten smirked and tried to jump away but he couldn't. He glanced down to see his feet were stuck in slime. Without a second left to block Goten's eyes widened as the slug came crashing down on top of him.

"Uncle Goten!" Cheena shouted in fear.

Slimo was laughing in victory, "Yes! I'm going to grind his tiny body into a bloody pulp under my weight!" But something wasn't right, "What is this burning sensation I'm feeling all of a sudden?" Slimo asked himself.

The disgusting creature was caught off guard as he was flown back by a golden burst of ki. When he regained his composure Slimo saw Goten standing there in his super saiyan form.

"You got your nasty slime all over me!" Goten said very annoyed.

Slimo just continued to laugh, "You can't stop me, you're still stuck in my slime!"

Goten smirked, "Really? Look down."

Slimo was horrified to see the slime burning away because of Goten's super saiyan aura.

"But how!" Slimo asked loudly.

Goten was more than happy to explain, "Your slime is some pretty strong stuff. In fact when he had me under you my whole body was buried in slime. Too bad my super saiyan aura is so hot that when I really power up I can burn a lot of things including your slime." Goten stuck out his arms and opened his palms. "And I'm really to bet that with all that slime covering your body, you'll burn just as easily. Rapid fire!" Hundreds of little ki blast shout from his hand and landed direct hits on Slimo one after the other.

When the smoke cleared the creature laid on the ground writhing in pain as his flammable slime burned through his skin.

Goten sighed, "Miira if you're watching, then let this be a message to you! You will be writhing in pain just like your monster if you don't give me my son back!"

Miira was indeed watching from her bedroom somewhere deep inside the castle. Goten's threat didn't scare her but the way Slimo lost so easily did anger her. "Oh well, Slimo was the weakest of the Crimson Triad. My other two guardians are much stronger. I suppose there is nothing left to do now but put that stupid slug out of his misery." She snapped her finger and cast a gruesome spell on Slimo.

The creature began to squirm even more and become as bloated as a balloon. Gohan realized what was about to happen so he grabbed Goten and Cheena and placed a barrier around the three of them. A second later Slimo exploded, blood and guts splattering every inch of the entire room.

When Goten opened his eyes he quickly said, "Gohan, cover Cheena's eyes. She doesn't need to see this."

With her eyes closed, Cheena, Goten, and Gohan got out of that room as quickly as they could.

Deep inside the dungeon Kakarot was still bound in the ki restrictive chains. His father and the others may not be able to sense him but he could sure sense them. He smiled when he felt his dad's super saiyan power and the evil ki of Slime fade away. His smile quickly disappeared when Miira entered his cell.

"I supposed you sensed your little rescue party defeat my first monter?" She asked.

Kakarot smirked, "To begin with I wanted to go back home because I didn't want them getting hurt trying to save me. But after feeling my dad's power I think they'll be just fine."

Miira sighed, "I thought you might say something like that. Let me tell you how wrong you are. I used my magic to kill Slimo. Now if your father's super saiyan power was ranked 100 on a 100 point scale, then Slimo's power would be about an 80. So you know how much of my magic I used to kill Slimo?" She raised two fingers, "2 percent. Now magic power is measured different than the type of power you saiyans use so I would say 5 percent of my magic would be enough to match your dad's super saiyan power."

Kakarot's heart sank, "There's no way you can be that strong…just no way…"

She smirked and stroked his cheeks with her fingers, "You look adorable with that fear in your eyes." She leaned in and whispered to Kakarot, "Now imagine what tortures I could inflict on Cheena with that much magical power."

Kakarot was still frozen in shock at how powerful Miira's magic must be. So Miira decided to get him worked up for fun. She commanding her guards to leave so she could have privacy with Kakarot.

She grinned, "Now we can have some privacy. I wonder why do you care so much about your cousin? I really wanted to know…let me bring all those feelings toward the surface."

Kakarot was shivering in fear, "She's my best friend, I would do anything to keep her safe. We're a team."

Miira looked into his eyes, "There's more to it than that, isn't there? What would you do if you saw her cuddling up to another boy like she cuddles with you?"

Kakarot's body suddenly tensed up as that image came to mind, "She wouldn't do that because she says she feels safe with me. I'm her protector."

Miira pushed the little saiyan against the wall and asked, "And what would you do if you saw your daddy kissing another woman?"

Kakarot was starting to get really pissed at these questions. No one had really asked him personal questions like this, questions he didn't think about. "My daddy would never do that to my mommy."

"I promise you that if your daddy doesn't die before he reaches my chamber you will see your daddy with his arms wrapped around me kissing me, and he will forget all about you or your mommy. Because deep down your dad has a dark soul and I know one day he'll grow tired of being saddled with a family and he will leave you and your mother." She mocked.

Kakarot was shaking in anger as much as his chains would let him, "SHUT UP!" He shouted.

She laughed at how upset he was becoming, "Oh goodness, you have such a temper. You're just like your dad though. If you were all grown up and had a family I bet you would be trying to fight the urge to lash out and beat your kids and your wife every single moment of your life. I bet deep down when you're cuddling Cheena you want to hurt her. You want to hurt her because she holds you back."

Kakarot was so angry he had tears coming down his cheeks, "I'm not like that! Cheena means the world to me. You don't know what you're talking about. You don't understand anything about how I feel about her."

"I think I do…I think I understand clearly how you feel." She argued.

She stood up and picked the bound child up into her arms, "I think you've been in my dungeon long enough. I'm going to take you to my bedroom and there we will wait for your family to come and rescue you. For now though you look so tired so I think you deserve a little nap." She used her magic to put him to sleep instantly. The last words he heard before he closed his eyes was Miira saying, "Enjoy your nightmare."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:** Well I don't want to give away too much so I'm just going to shut up and let you all read on! Review and comment as always.

Kakarot found himself in the hallway of a hospital. He had just stepped off an elevator. "What am I doing here?" He looked down at his body and was shocked, "I'm a teenager? What in the world is going on here?"

"Excuse me sir, are you Mrs. Cheena's cousin.?" A nurse asked.

Kakarot looked at the woman and nodded, "Uh yes I am."

The nurse looked sad, "I'm so sorry for what happened to her."

Kakarot's eyes widened and he grabbed the nurse, "Did something happen to her! Where is she!"

The nurse pointed down the hall and told him, "Room 124."

A split second later Kakarot was rushing down the hall and stopped right in front of the room. What he saw horrified more than anything else could. The person he cherished more than anything in the universe was laying in a bed on life support, beaten, battered, and broken with an oxygen masked keeping her breathing and IV's attempting to keep her functioning.

He walked over to her bed and fell to his knees. He took her ice cold pale hand into his own and with tears running down his face said, "Cheena…wake up…its me, Kakarot. Wake up…I'm here…please…wake up…"

Her blackened eyes slowly opened and she whispered with a very weak smile, "K…Kakarot…"

He kissed her hand and nodded, "I'm here now…"

She focused on his eyes and she seemed happy despite her physical pain, "I'm so happy that you're back…"

He tried to smile for her to comfort her, "I'm sorry this happened….I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you. I'm so sorry. Tell me who hurt you like this?"

He saw a single tear run down her cheeks as she answered, "You did…"

Horror filled his heart, "I…did this? No….I would never hurt you…."

She closed her eyes but kept a weak smile, "I know…it wasn't you…not the Kakarot I knew…it was another side of you. But I can see in your eyes that my sweet Kakarot is back…." She coughed a little and then continued, "Even though you became so angry as we grew up and you started to hurt me…to beat me…I knew it wasn't really the real Kakarot inside doing this to me…so I took every hit because I knew my Kakarot would come back and now you have…I'm so glad…"

With those final words her smile disappeared and her hand went limp in his hand. The heart monitor went flat.

Kakarot was in shock, "I've been beating her…I did this….I killed her…" Then he snapped, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The next thing he knew he was screaming but still bound in chains and laying on a large red bed. He was five years old again and then he remembered what happened.

"It was just a nightmare…I remember…Miira did this to me." Kakarot said to himself as he tried to regain his composure.

Miira wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed the back of his neck, "Yes little one, it was just a nightmare."

Kakarot mad an angry growl and spoke in a savage tone, "You crossed the line with that nightmare…I'll kill you for that."

She smirked, "Little one…don't hate me for that nightmare. Dreams are said to be the subconscious desires we have deep down. So deep down you wanted that nightmare to come true."

He couldn't move his arms or legs in these chains but he could move his head, "SHUT UP!" He jerked his head back as hard as he could busting Miira's lips.

She just giggled and licked the blood from her lips, "Good boy…so angry and so violent. You're going to be perfect."

A guard knocked on the door and asked, "My lady, may I enter?"

She sighed, "It better be important."

The guard entered and bowed before his mistress, "Mistress, the potion is a success."

Miira was overjoyed to hear the news, "Perfect! Looks like I don't need your father after all. You'll do just fine, Kakarot."

Kakarot was nervous now, "What are you planning to do to me?"

She kissed his cheek and grinned, "You'll find out soon. Try and relax until then because no matter what happens you get to live."

She kept petting his spiky black hair and looking at him like he was some kind of pet. Never before had Kakarot felt such a strange uneasiness in his stomach. He wanted to cry but was too numb to do it.

"To help you relax how about I let you watch some TV? It's my favorite movie about three rescuers who end up dying in a dark gloomy castle before they can ever reach the prince they're trying to save." She snapped her fingers and a crystal ball appeared. Soon the image of Goten and the others appeared on screen.

"Daddy and uncle Gohan!" Kakarot said and then he saw Cheena walking next to her father, "Cheena…" He said this with a sound of desperation.

"What's wrong, you wanted to see her again, right? Well you're seeing her right now aren't you? But I suppose what you really want is to be able to hold her in your arms again. I can make half your wish come true, you'll be cradling her corpse by the end of the day, but I'm afraid her soul will be long gone." She mocked.

Kakarot glanced at her, "If you do that…if you kill her then I swear I'll send you straight to hell."

Miira loved that she was digging into the deepest part of his heart. He was still a child and normally children his age had yet to develop such a deep core of values and what is important to them. Kakarot was different though, truly a rare breed of person. Only five years old and already his heart is like that of a knight, a knight who is absolutely devoted to protecting his princess who just so happens to be his cousin. But this is the very problem Miira needed to solve. She needed to break down his heart of a knight, but to do that she has to remove what he protects, she had to remove Cheena. Then with her gone his heart will crumble and she can rebuild his heart into the heart of a king. That's exactly what she needs: A King.

Miira looked down at the crystal ball and smirked, "Looks like your family has finally arrived in the second battle dungeon. They'll have a difficult time against my dear Maicho."

Kakarot believed in his family though, "Get him guys." He said with confidence.

In the chamber Goten tapped the floor with his foot impatiently, "Miira, enough of this! If someone is going to try and fight us then send him out! I'm not here to play games. I came here to get my son back and go home."

"You're going to wish you hadn't said that, saiyan." Said an icy voice like a snake.

Every looked toward a shadowy corner of the room to see a skinny blue door open and a blue skinned, pointy eared, man with a gotie, wearing dark blue Chinese monk clothing and a hat that had the Japanese symbols of frozen death stamped on it.

"Welcome. I am Maicho the ice demon, the second member of the crimson triad." He greeted them.

Cheena pointed at Maicho and said, "Alright look, you guys can't beat us and I'm tired of this stupid smelly castle. I want Kakarot and I want him now. You understand you north pole elf reject."

Gohan took a step away from Cheena, "Uh sweetheart, try and calm down a little."

Maicho just laughed at the girl, "Don't get so overconfident, you silly child. Slimo was the weakest of the triad. I am much stronger and much better looking than that giant waste of a slug."

Cheena smirked, "I think we all agree you're better looking than the slug but not by much."

Maicho pointed at Cheena, "Fine then little girl. You will be the first to face me and then we'll see how witty you are when I've left deep bloody gashes in that pretty little face of yours."

"Bring it on then!" Cheena challenged.

Gohan shook his head, "No Cheena. Let daddy and uncle Goten handle these fights."

Cheena looked at her father and told him, "No. I came here to save Kakarot. These creeps took him away from me and now I want him back. I'm not leaving this place until I make them pay for taking him away. Anyone who hurts me has to answer to Kakarot and anyone who hurts Kakarot gets their butt kicked by me. So stay out of this dad. If you don't like it then you can ground me, spank me, or whatever when we get home."

Kakarot who was listening into the whole thing couldn't help but smile, "Cheena…thank you…" He whispered.

Miira only glared at him in disgust, "Ugh, this thing you two have between each other makes me want to puke."

Cheena stepped out to face Maicho, "Come on then, lets do this. I want to get this over with. You're not really the one I want to hurt. Its your stupid mistress, when I get a hold of her I'm going to make her apologize on her knees in front of Kakarot."

Maicho laughed, "Oh how sweet. Little girl wants to get her boy back. Do I sense a little jealously that he's with my mistress right now instead of you?"

Cheena glared at him, "Shut up creep."

Cheena jumped into the air and fired one of her dad's favorite attacks, "Masenko Ha!"

Maicho smirked and repealed the attack with a shield of solid ice. Cheena dodged the attack and dashed to the ground. She ran around Maicho's shield and began firing ki blast. Then a cold mist formed around the room and Maicho disappeared in it.

"Where did he go!" Cheena asked and quickly got here answer.

"Behind you!" Maicho shouted.

She turned but wasn't quick enough to stop him. She felt his claws dig into her back. She jumped away and cringed from the scratches.

Maicho stood there and laugh, "Not bad for a child. But your father should have taught you that villains like me rarely play fair. You see this mist of mine is very special. I come from the planet Glaco. Its and icy world located in the far reaches of the demon realm where no light can reach it. Demons like me have the ability to create this cold mist and meld our bodies with it. We become the mist and attack from anywhere within it."

Cheena gripped her fist, "So what? I'll just blow the mist away."

"Ha! I doubt it. This wind is the strongest wind in the demon realm. It can't be blown away by the power of a child." Maicho mocked.

Gohan looked at the demon and said, "Maybe her power isn't enough but I bet mine is."

Cheena looked at her father and shouted, "No! I have to do this. Kakarot has protecting me every single time we were in trouble. I have to beat this guy to prove to myself that I have the strength to protect him too. Kakarot is my hero but even a hero gets tired. So when he can't fight I need to be able to fight for him. Please daddy, let me do this."

Goten put his hand on Gohan's shoulder and said, "Let her do this. There come times when our kids have to mature and this is one of those times. Let her do this, Gohan. I promise if it looks like she's in real danger then we'll both jump in and save her."

Gohan tried to swallow his protective fatherly instincts and nodded, "You're right, Goten. I need to support her."

Gohan smiled at his daughter and told her, "Kick his butt, honey."

She smiled back, "You got it!"

Maicho sighed, "Alright now that father daughter bonding time is over, lets get back to the part where I make the last few moments of your life a frozen hell."

Cheena powered up her ki but just like Maicho had said her power had no effect on the mist. It was still as thick as ever.

"I told you it wouldn't work. Now its my turn." He disappeared and the wind began to swirl like crazy.

Cheena could feel him inflicting her with many small scratches. Then he went in for a bigger slash and Cheena could feel it for sure. This time he attacked her left shoulder.

She gripped her shoulder and gritted her teeth in pain, "I've got to figure out his strategy."

She closed her eyes and focused on the way he attacked her. She played his strategy out over in her mind and began to notice a pattern.

"Little scratches then big scratches. He got my left shoulder and now my right arm…no pattern there. Wait…there it is!" She smiled.

When Maicho went to slash her right shoulder she grabbed him and smirked, "This is for mocking me and Kakarot!" She shot a huge amount of energy into Maicho causing him to be fried to a crisp.

The mist disappeared and Maicho collapsed to the ground. With the last bit of strength he had he asked, "But how did you know when I was going to strike?"

Cheena looked down at the dying demon and answered proudly, "At first I thought you might use a pattern in your attacks but I was wrong. But there was something else that gave away when you would attack. The air around the spot you were about to attack would always thicken. It did this because you needed to restore your arms to their physical form in order to deliver the deepest cuts. It didn't take too long to notice that sudden difference."

Maicho gritted his teeth in anger and said, "Beaten by a little girl…I deserve to die." And with that he died.

Gohan smiled and hugged his daughter, "You're an excellent observer, Cheena. You're able to pick up on even the slightest things your opponents do in battle and use that to your advantage. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, daddy." Cheena smiled.

Gohan looked at her cuts and asked, "You going to be okay?"

She nodded, "Yup. I get more cuts and bruises when Kakarot and I play than I did with this ugly blue jerk. This is no problem." She laughed.

Kakarot smiled as he watched his cousin's victory, "You go girl."

Miira slapped Kakarot, "Stop being so damn obsessed with her!"

He spit in her face. Miira grabbed his head and slammed him onto the floor, "That's it, you've sealed her fate. I know how much its going to hurt to watch her die because of how much you care for her."

"Would you stop talking in riddles. What are you getting at with all this talk?" Kakarot demanded to know.

Miira smirked, "I know what she really means to you but you're too young to fully grasp your true feelings for her. So I'll put it in terms a five year old can understand. I know you have a crush on Cheena, don't you?"

Kakarot eyes widened and his body became tense. He thought over what Miira said and then his body relaxed and he glared at Miira with a deep look, "No…." He simply answered.

Miira threw him back on the bed and started to walk out of the room but she stopped and looked at him, "Liar…" She said before she walked out the door.

Kakarot laid there on her bed thinking about Miira had asked him. He sighed, "I don't know…" He whispered to himself.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:** This is the last chapter before the epic battle with Miira. I'll try and get the whole battle in the next chapter so that means it will be pretty long. So enjoy this lead up to the epic next chapter and of course review.

Luckily in her rage Miira forgot to take her crystal ball with her. Kakarot watched his family making their way through the castle.

He focused the most on his cousin, "Cheena…I wonder how I really feel about you…and how you feel about me…I know we've always been close but…could we possibly…" Kakarot's whispering was interrupted as the bedroom door opened.

Miira stood there holding a bottle with some kind of purple liquid inside, "You're rescue team is on their way to the final triad warrior. I suspect they'll win once again and then they'll come here. So we have to prepare for their arrival."

Kakarot focused on the bottle and asked, "What is that stuff you got there?"

She gave him a devilish grin, "Just a little something that will make you grow up into a big boy."

"Don't joke with me!" Kakarot was getting sick of her constant mocking and childish games.

She climbed up on the bed and cuddled his body close to her, "I'm not joking. After you drink this you'll be able to do things only big boys can do."

Kakarot was getting really frightened with wherever this was going, "I'm not drinking that stuff." He told her.

She pushed him down onto the bed with the ki restricting chains still around him. Then she pulled out a double bladed device and smirked. She forced his little mouth opened and stabbed one end of the device into the top of his mouth and the other end stabbed into his tongue. The young saiyan was crying from the intense pain but he couldn't close his mouth or the bladed object would stab through the top and bottom of his mouth and that would hurt even more.

With no way of stopping her now Miira was free to pour the potion into the child's mouth, "Drink up. I was nice and decided to make it grape flavor."

Every last drop of the potion made its way down Kakarot's throat. With the deed done Miira removed the painful torture device from his mouth. Kakarot was crying and screaming from the horrible pain he had just experienced.

"I HATE YOU!" He shouted but that only hurt worse.

Miira looked into his eyes, "Well I love you and I'm going to show you just how much once my potion takes affect"

Kakarot being a child did not know what she was hinting at but whatever it was he was scared to death. This witch was sick and anything she has planned was going to be horrible.

Miira took the crying child into her arms and stroked his hair, "Hush now little one. Just relax in my arms and let us watch the show." She said almost sweetly.

Kakarot looked on at the crystal ball and thought to himself, "Please hurry…"

The rescue team trio found themselves at a crossroad. One set of stairs led up and the other set of stairs led down.

"So which way do you think leads to Miira?" Gohan asked his daughter and brother.

Cheena closed her eyes and could almost hear the sound of Kakarot's plea for them to hurry. She pointed toward which way she felt he was calling from.

"We need to take the stairs going down. Trust, I have this feeling Kakarot is there." She explained.

Gohan looked at his daughter and asked, "Alright be honest, what is this thing you and Kakarot have between each other?"

Cheena and Goten both looked surprised by Gohan's outburst. Cheena looked confused at her father's question but answered as best she could, "Daddy, what are you talking about? You know Kakarot and I have always been close to each other."

"That's exactly what I have a problem with. I'm starting to think you two are becoming a little too close." Gohan told her.

Goten grabbed his brother and pulled him away from Cheena to speak with him in private, "You are taking this way too far, Gohan. They're children for goodness sake." Goten whispered.

Gohan looked at his brother and argued back, "Right now they are but what happens in another 7 to 10 years? They'll still be really close to each other and at that age who knows what that may lead to. I think they need to be separated from each other for awhile."

Goten shook his head, "I am not doing that to them. There is no telling how pulling them apart from each other would affect them. But I do know one thing if you try and separate Cheena from Kakarot she is going to always resent you for that. That is her best friend and they care for each other immensely."

Gohan stared his brother in the eyes, "They are also cousins."

"And what, cousins can't care for each other?" Goten asked.

Gohan gripped his fist, "You know what I mean. They shouldn't care for each other in that way."

Goten his head, "They are five years old, Gohan. They don't even understand things like that. Even when they do get older and maybe something will happen between them but would it really be so bad? At least we know they would take care of each other."

Gohan was starting to get annoyed at his little brother's care free attitude about this, "Miira attacked Cheena because of how much she means to him. If you think for one second I'm going to let your son put my daughter in danger like that again then you have another coming."

Goten stuck his finger in his older brother's face and warned him, "Don't you dare talk about my son that way. He would never put Cheena in danger on purpose. Even if they do end up having feelings for each other one day you as a father should grateful he cares so much about her. Any father should want that for their child."

"I do want my daughter to be with a good boy who loves her, but not him. I think you need to stop being blind by your love for your son and watch him a bit more closely." Gohan told him.

Goten glared at his brother, "What are you trying to suggest about my son?"

"I just have a bad feeling about him." Gohan admitted.

"A bad feeling? Is that why you let them sleep over at each others houses? Is that why you let him cuddle with her? Don't go forming an opinion of my son just because you got a bad feeling about him." Goten told his brother.

Gohan looked over to see Cheena was gone, "Where did she go!"

Goten looked over at the stairs and answered, "She must have gone after Kakarot. See how much she cares about him?"

"And see how much danger he keeps putting her in?" Gohan argued.

Goten shook his head, "Whatever. We don't have time to argue right now. We have to go after Cheena and save both our kids."

The brothers took off down the stairs as fast as they could yelling for Cheena. But no answer came. Finally they were in another large room and standing before them was a man with long grey hair, pale skin, and sharp claw like fingers. He wore a suit and tie and gave a tired and disturbing smile to the brothers.

"Welcome saiyans. I am Toro and I am the third and final member of the crimson triad." Toro greeted them.

Gohan looked at the man and asked, "Where is Cheena? I know she came down this way?"

Toro smiled again and answered truthfully, "She's gone up ahead. Soon she'll be reunited with that boy she cares so much about. Unfortunately you two will not be advancing that far."

Gohan stepped forward, "Goten and Cheena have already fought so now it's my turn. I'm ready for whatever you got, Toro."

Toro smirked, "Come on now, we don't need to start fighting just yet. Let's relax a little before starting our match. That way it will be enjoyable."

Gohan wasn't in the mood for this guy's games and went super saiyan to show his frustration.

Toro sighed, "You really are serious about this, aren't you? Man, what a drag. I was hoping we could avoid fighting all together and just relax until my mistress is finished using Kakarot."

Goten winced, "What do you mean when she's finished using him."

Toro yawned, "Wouldn't you like to know. All I'm saying is that ever since we succeeded in making that special potion, my mistress has lost all interest in you and is only interested in your son. Sorry about this but if I didn't stop you two from messing up her plans I wouldn't be much of a guard, now would I?"

In a flash Toro disappeared and then reappeared behind Gohan. A gash of blood shot out from Gohan's side causing the saiyan to scream in pain.

"I didn't even see him attack…he's so fast…" Gohan placed his hand on his wound.

Toro's face looked serious for the first time since they met him, "Not only am I the strongest of the triad but I'm also the fastest. Trust me though my speed is more terrifying than my strength."

Gohan smirked, "We'll see about that. I'm stronger and faster than my brother and daughter."

Gohan powered down from his super saiyan state and a white aura with glimmering sparkles of energy began to surge around him.

Goten's eyes widened, "He's pulling out all the stocks on this one. He hasn't gone mystic since we fought Hirudegarn when I was a kid."

Gohan's eyes looked a lot more serious and his black spiky hair now had a slight curve and a single bang hanged in front. He turned towards Toro and smirked, "Let's see who's faster now." Gohan seemed to disappear he was so fast now.

Toro just sighed, "Oh please. This wont take long."

Now both fighters had seemed to disappear. Goten closed his eyes and focused on their energy, soon he was able to sense the exact spots where they were clashing. It seemed that both of their speeds were equal.

Finally the two warriors appeared visible again for a brief respite. Gohan was starting breathing heavy but surprisingly Toro didn't seem tired at all.

"I got to admit, I underestimated you." Gohan complimented his opponent.

"Hey now, don't feel too bad. Most people underestimate me. I'm surprised our speed is equal." Toro complimented back.

"You know you have everything you need to kill me if you only utilize them properly." Toro explained.

Gohan began thinking over what his possible strategies could be, "Your mind games wont work."

Toro yawned, "Mind games, as if. I'm just trying to give you a fighting chance because beating you otherwise would just be overkill. However if you don't want to listen to my advice then there really is no point in prolonging this fight. So I'm going to end it."

In an instant Toro disappeared again and in only a matter of seconds Goten saw his brother with bloody slashes all over his torso. He couldn't watch this anymore.

"One final attack and it's over." Toro said as he headed straight to stab Gohan's heart.

Before he could though Goten grabbed Toro by his hair and shouted, "You were right about Gohan having everything he needs to beat you. He has me, his little brother. Even though Gohan and I may argue and fight sometimes we will always have each others' back in battle. Now you'll have to learn the hard way what happens when you mess with the Son family brothers!"

Goten grabbed Toro's face and shot out his family's signature attack, "Kamehameha!" And Toro was reduced to ashes.

Gohan looked at his little brother and smiled, "Thanks bro."

Goten smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "Hey that's what family is for. I knew he would be too distracted fighting you so I took my chance and saved my big brother."

Gohan hugged his little brother, "Sorry about before. I guess right now the kids are so young they really don't understand their own feelings. Besides it would be wrong for me to divide them, they're good kids and I was just overreacting to nothing at all really."

Goten gave him the famous Son family grin, "Then how about we keep moving and save those two!"

"Let's do it, bro." Gohan and Goten took off into the hallway, their next stop would be Miira's chambers.

Cheena was already way ahead of them. She had found Miira's bedroom and opened the door. There on the bed laid Kakarot but now he was alone and wasn't chained up either.

"Kakarot!" Cheena said in excitement.

She ran as fast as she could and kneeled next to his bed. She gave him the biggest hug she had ever given him and started to cry she was so happy.

"Thank God, you're okay." Cheena said but then she noticed he wasn't excited, in fact he looked sick.

"Kakarot…did she do something to you?" She asked worryingly.

Kakarot smiled at Cheena and weakly said, "I'm so happy to feel your presence near me again. But Cheena I need you to do something for me…"

"What is it? Anything you want I'll do it for you, Kakarot." Cheena said as she cradled him close to her.

"Please go home…leave me before Miira comes back and hurts you. She wants you dead, Cheena. Please leave now…I can't protect you in the shape I'm in." Kakarot begged.

Cheena shook her head and her turns turned from ones of happiness to ones of sorrow, "No way! I'm not leaving you here all alone so she can do God only knows what to you. You're coming back home with me no matter what!"

"Oh I think not." Miira said as she entered the room.

Cheena glared at the crimson witch and their eyes were locked, the hate between them obvious. The epic battle between the red witch and the saiyans was about to begin.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note:** Like I said before, this is a really long chapter. Normally my chapters for this story go about 7 pages in Microsoft word but this one went to 12 pages lol. But I really had fun writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

"Miira, you leave Cheena alone! She's going to leave the castle right now so just leave her alone." Kakarot pleaded.

Cheena shook her head, "No I'm not! I'm not leaving until I have Kakarot back with me."

Miira smirked, "Well you heard the girl, Kakarot. I'm actually glad she's here because I've been waiting so long to get a hold of her."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing, you witch!" Cheena jumped in the air to land a kick but a magic shield knocked her back and sent her flying against the wall.

"I can't move! It's like I'm glued to the wall!" Cheena struggled hopelessly to get free.

Miira walked over to the bed and looked at Cheena with a disgusting prideful face, "Before I get to the part where I torture you, I'm going to make you watch as I defile your precious cousin here."

"What do you mean?" Cheena asked angrily.

Miira stroked his hair, "I'm going to have sex with him."

Kakarot and Cheena both looked confused. The little male saiyan looked at Miira with his sickly eyes and asked, "What does that word mean?"

Miira couldn't help but laugh at the naïve children, "Oh I see your mommies and daddies haven't explained to you where babies come from. I suppose they told you some silly story like a stork brings the baby or something." She licked Kakarot's cheek and he was too sick and weak to fight back. "The truth is when a man and a woman want to have a baby they have to have sex. Unfortunatelly little Kakarot you're too young to actually make a baby. So I brewed up that potion I gave you earlier to not only make you terribly sick so you couldn't fight back but also to alter your body to where you could make a baby."

Cheena and Kakarot both looked horrified, "Why do you want to make a baby with him!"

Miira giggled, "If I tried to explain it to you then you wouldn't understand."

Kakarot struggled to try and sit up, "It doesn't matter why you want to do it because I'm not going to lay here and let you do this to me."

She gently pushed him back down, "I don't think you have much of a choice. Now hold still and try to enjoy this little one."

She began to take his shirt off and Kakarot screamed and tried but failed to kick her away, "Stop it! What are you doing to me! Leave me alone! I don't want to make a baby with you, you're a nasty witch!"

Cheena gritted her teeth in anger, "Let him go! Miira I'm warning you, if you hurt him I'll rip your head off!"

Miira removed her dress leaving her only in her underwear. She looked up and smirked at Cheena, "How does it feel to watch me do this to him? I can tell by the look in your eyes that your consumed by anger. I bet you were thinking you would get to do this first with him."

Cheena looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Miira sighed, "Oh like you don't know, you little tramp."

"MIIRA!" She heard a voice shout from the door.

Miira turned and saw Goten and Gohan standing there and they looked pissed off.

Goten glared at the crimson witch, "You get away from my son, you whore."

Miira stepped off of the bed and stood next to it smirking at the two adult saiyans, "Goten and Gohan, welcome to my private chambers. You're just in time to watch the conception of your grandbaby, Goten. Unless of course you'd like to take his place. Either you or your son, it doesn't matter which one just as long as I have your baby."

Gohan gripped his fist, "Enough witch! Tell us, what are you really after."

Miira shrugged, "Since there isn't much you can do to stop me I guess there is no harm in revealing my scheme. First of all my real name is Angelica, not Miira. This all begins about two hundred years ago when I became employed as a witch in Other World. Some decades later the guardian of Planet Vegeta passed away and a new one needed to be selected. Every guardian of Planet Vegeta had always been a Tuffle but the saiyans had destroyed them and it was too risky to give a saiyan the knowledge that a guardian possesses. So they had to pick someone from Other World for the job and lucky me I got the position."

"I watched the saiyans from high above and as the years passed I became more and more disgusted by their savage nature, and so I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. At first it was little stuff like using my magic to invade the dreams of saiyan children, which sparked that silly fairy tale about the Lady in Red. My actions against the saiyans kept progressing until finally I grew tired of watching over such filthy creatures and deemed that they were not worthy to inhabit the universe. So I lured Frieza to the planet, fully aware that in his paranoia he would eventually destroy the lot of them." She smirked.

Goten and Gohan's jaws dropped, "So you're just as responsible for the genocide of the saiyans as Frieza is!"

She nodded gleefully, "That's right and lets just say King Yemma and the Kais weren't too happy I abused by position. They were so upset they decided to imprison me for five thousand years but luckily I was already well versed in dark magic at that point and using a blood transportation amulet, like the one that brought you here, I was able to flee to this realm. I built this palace and forest and placed a magic barrier around it to protect it from the violent storms of crimson space. I knew no one would come here looking for me, this place was far too dangerous, but just for extra security I decided to change my name to Miira."

"So tell me, where exactly do we come into your plan." Gohan demanded to know.

Angelica licked her lips, "That is the best part. I wanted revenge against Other World and over the years I realized I was far too hasty in condemning the saiyan race to death. I couldn't see their true worth, their savage nature and their hidden super saiyan strength were really gifts. Luckily I discovered there were saiyans living on Earth and that's when I came up with a plan. If I could seduce one of you and become pregnant then the child would be born with the incredible strength of a saiyan and my powerful dark magic, add that with a wish of immortality from those things you call dragon balls and the child would be a god like being. With a child like that I could use him to bring the universe to its knees."

Goten was disgusted by her plan, "You're sick! But why just target my son and I?"

Angelica giggled, "Oh that's easy. Your father is too pure hearted and Vegeta is too hard headed to be seduced. Gohan and Trunks grew too soft during all these years of peace. But you stayed strong, you kept an angry fire burning all those years in prison. The evidence of that was the odd transformation you took in your fight with Ryo. I knew you would be the perfect mate, and your son would be an excellent back up plan since I could easily turn him into the type of warrior father I need."

Goten was shaking with anger, "So you've been watching using a crystal ball while you stayed safely inside your castle, like a coward. You stupid whore! I'm so sick of people like you!"

Goten charged at Angelica but her magic barrier knocked him back. Gohan fired his masenko but it did nothing to the magic barrier which divided the room in half, Angelica and the kids on one side and the adults on the other.

"Not even my masenko can break the barrier!" Gohan said in shock.

Angelica laughed mockingly, "There is no question in terms of ki and brute strength you two outclass me. But my magic is so powerful that no amount of ki or physical power can compare to it."

Goten ran to the barrier and began to punch it over and over, "No! I won't let you do this to my son!"

Kakarot who was still in Angelica's arms, looked at his father and whispered, "Daddy…"

Angelica laid the saiyan child on her bed and grinned, "Now you and I will conceive a god."

"NOOO!" Cheena screamed.

Angelica glared at her, "Are you jealous?"

Cheena was crying out of anger but also because she was helpless to save Kakarot, "Please don't do this to him!"

"Don't do what to him? You mean this?" Angelica forced Cheena to watch as she forced a kiss on Kakarot's lips. The young saiyan boy struggled to keep his mouth closed but Angelica forced her tongue into his mouth.

Then she looked back at Cheena and asked, "I bet that really makes you mad. You wanted to give him his first kiss, didn't you?"

Cheena saw the fear in Kakarot's eyes and it was breaking her heart, "No more…he's so afraid. Angelica, he doesn't deserve this."

Angelica stood up and slapped Cheena as hard as she could, "Listen you little tramp. I don't care what he does and does not deserve. I need him for my plan and that's all I care about. But the thought of forcing you to watch me rape your cousin and engraving that image in your mind is just so appealing I can't resist. Now do I sound like the type of woman capable of mercy?"

Goten was getting tired from punching the barrier and he knew he wasn't getting anywhere like this. So he decided to do the one thing he could think of that may spare his son from being raped.

"Roza…forgive me for what I'm about to do." Goten whispered to himself. He looked at Angelica and said, "You may not be the type to show mercy but are you the type to make a deal?"

Angelica turned and looked at Goten and asked, "What do you mean?"

"A trade. Take me in my son's place. After all you said it didn't matter which one of us you used." Goten offered.

Gohan's eyes widened, "Goten, are you crazy!"

Goten shook his head, "You know as well as I do that a father must always do what is best for their children. For all of our power we can't combat her magic. If this will spare my son from going through life suffering from the emotional scars left by rape, then I will take his place in an instant."

Kakarot could hear everything his father said and whispered weakly, "Daddy…no…"

Angelica loved the idea, "Well I think your father son emotional crap is disgusting, but I would rather have a real man instead of a child. Alright Goten, you got a deal."

She snapped her fingers and Kakarot and Goten suddenly switched places. Now Kakarot was laying on the floor next to his uncle Gohan and Goten was laying with his arms and legs chained to the bed by ki negating chains, meaning he couldn't fight back.

"Let Cheena go too." Goten demanded.

Angelica shook her head, "Sorry, the agreement was I would let Kakarot go. I never promised I would free Cheena. Besides I'm still going to make your son watch as I crush the person he cares for most."

"You're a filthy hell whore." Goten spit at her.

She only laid only top of him and rubbed his chest, "Don't act like you haven't been wanting this. Ever since the first time I came into your dreams you've wanted this. I know deep down your soul is filled with lust and that bitch of yours just isn't enough to satisfy you. You saiyans bit the neck of your mate and form a bond with them when you first make love, right? She can almost feel your emotions and almost hear your thoughts. If I'm not mistaken when you make love to someone else that bond will break between you and for the one being cheated on it is a very painful experience, right? So prove I'm right about you, break your bond with Roza."

Goten smirked and said, "You're right. Roza isn't wild enough for me. I need passion, I need taboo, I need you." Without hesitation Goten bit Angelica's neck causing the bond between him and Roza to break and a new bond to form between him and Angelica.

Back at capsule corporation Roza had been sleeping for the first time since Goten and the others went to rescue her son. But suddenly she awoke from her sleep with a deep pain in her chest. She jumped out of bed and started screaming and crying and beating the walls.

Vegeta and Goku ran to see what was going on. They found her squirming on the floor screaming in pain.

"What's wrong, Roza!" Goku asked as he tried to get her to calm down.

She was breathing heavy, "It feels like I'm having a heart attack but not of the physical heart. But it hurts so much. And call me crazy but ever since Goten and I first made love I could always feel him, but now I can't."

Goku and Vegeta's eyes widened as they both realized what was happening, "The bond is broken…" They both whispered in shock.

"What do you mean?" She asked trying regain her composure.

Vegeta decided to explain this one though it wouldn't be easy, "When a saiyan and his mate make love the first time, he will bite her neck and a bond forms between the two. They can feel each other and can almost read each other's emotions and thoughts. You and Goten are both saiyans so your bond is actually stronger than the bonds we have with our wives. When the bond is broken between a saiyan and his mate it causes immense pain to one of the two, in this case you."

"But what causes the bond to break." Roza asked still trying to recover.

Vegeta looked down and answered, "It will only break when one of you chooses a new mate by creating a new bond with them."

Roza's heart sank and her eyes widened in horror, "You mean….Goten is cheating on me!"

She began to shiver and cry really hard. Goku took her into his arms and hugged her, "Roza I'm so sorry but he has to have a good reason for it. You know he wouldn't do this unless it was for a very good reason. You know he loves you, you know he does."

Roza's heart was broken deeply, "I hope you're right, Goku."

Angelica kissed Goten passionately and licked his neck, "Now this is what I'm talking about. I knew you were a bad boy deep inside."

Kakarot stood up finally regaining a little of his strength and had to witness his father betray his mother, "Daddy….how could you?" Tears started to form in his eyes.

Gohan ran up to the magic barrier and slammed his fist against it, "What the hell is wrong with you! You wanted this to happen! You wanted to be with this devil whore! How can you just betray your own wife and son like this!"

Cheena looked at Kakarot and saw something in his eyes she had never seen before. He was sad but not like the type of sad he's been in the past when he didn't get candy or something. No, this sadness was the heart ache of being abandoned by someone you love and it showed clearly on his face.

"Kakarot…I'm so sorry…" She whispered.

Kakarot's pain turned into anger, "I hate you, dad!" He shouted at his father.

Goten heard what his son said and that really cut his heart deep but he had to do this, "Now we are connected, Angelica."

She grinned victoriously, "Yes and now you are all mine!"

Goten began to struggle against the chains, "Wait, I've changed my mind! I don't want this!"

She was getting annoyed, "That's it! I've waited too long for this moment. I'll just go into your dreams and damage your mind so you wont ever resist again!"

She began her spell to enter his dreams. That's when Goten smirked, "Gotcha!" He leaned up and kissed her. He turned into a purple flash and dissolved into Angelica's dreams.

"Wait where did he go!" Gohan was stunned by what just happened.

Angelica fell unconscious and her magic barrier disappeared and Cheena was freed. Immediately she ran over to Kakarot and hugged him. Kakarot wrapped his arms around her waist.

He smiled and whispered into her ear, "I've missed you."

She blushed and answered back, "I've missed you too."

Gohan walked over to Angelica's unconscious body and tried to figure out what just happened. Kakarot looked at his uncle and asked him, "Where did my dad go?"

"I think maybe somehow he got into Angelica's dream by turning her own spell against her." Gohan answered and then it hit him what Goten's plan was all along, "I get it now! Goten was pretending like he wanted to be with Angelica so he could make a bond between them. He knew this bond would tie him to her and when she used the spell to enter dreams Goten used the bond between them to tap into her spell and use it to enter her dreams instead!" Gohan explained.

"But why would he do that, dad?" Cheena questioned.

Gohan looked at the kids and told them, "He must have figure we couldn't take on her magic in the real world. So he decided he would enter her dreams while in his physical form. When a physical being enters someone's dreams they can control those dreams however they wish. It's exactly what Angelica was doing to you guys, she entered your dreams while still in her physical body and as such was able to easily control your dreams. In other words if Goten kills Angelica in her dreams then her mind will be shattered and most likely that will kill her."

Kakarot felt bad now, "He did what he did because he was trying to protect us, and I said I hated him. I'm so stupid."

Cheena shook her head, "No you're not. You're dad isn't going to blame you for that, he knew he had to trick us into believing he really betrayed us for his plan to work. It's okay, Kakarot."

Kakarot looked at Angelica's sleeping body and said, "Make her pay, dad."

Angelica found herself in darkness surrounded by four walls made of blue crystal.

"Where am I?" She asked herself.

Then she heard a familiar voice answer, "You don't recognize this place? It's your dream. Or should I say it's your dream but with my personal touch."

Angelica recognized the voice and commanded, "Come out here now, Goten!"

"Now that isn't how the game is played and you know it. After all you made up this little game. Isn't this how you work? You keep people running around like in their own dreams like a mouse in a maze. Now that the roles are switched you don't want to play anymore? Well tough shit, sweetheart. This is what happens when you mess with my family." Goten didn't care if he was supposed to be the better person and show some mercy to Angelica. She almost raped his son, hurt his niece, and made him break the bond with his mate, and now she was going to pay for all of it and he was going to enjoy watching her squirm.

"I swear to God, if you don't get out of my dream right now I will show you a side of me you really don't want to see!" She warned.

Goten chuckled, "Interesting but I think torturing you for a little bit is just too tempting to resist."

All of a sudden the crystal walls broke and all the tiny shards of crystal came rushing toward her, cutting her thousands of times.

"AAAAAHHH!" Angelica cried out in pain.

Back in the real world Gohan and the kids could do nothing but wait. Sure they could kill Angelica easily right now but with Goten in her dreams there is no telling what that would do to him. So they had to wait.

Kakarot had recovered from the potion and was now holding his cousin in his arms, her head resting on his chest. That's when she realized she was cuddled up to her shirtless cousin.

"Umm….Kakarot, maybe you should put your gi back on." Cheena said while blushing.

Kakarot turned his head away from her and blushed too, "Yeah that's a good idea." He picked his blue and white gi off from the floor and slipped it back on.

When her blushing disappeared she looked at Kakarot and asked the question she's been wanting to ask since she got to this castle, "Kakarot, did Angelica kidnap you or did you come here yourself."

"I came here willingly." He answered truthfully.

Her eyes widened, "Why would you do that?"

He scratched the back of his head and blushed, "She came to me in a nightmare and said you would be dead by morning if I didn't go to her. That amulet thingy, she gave it to me back when I thought she was my imaginary friend. She told me I could use it to get to where she lived but I didn't realize until she started to reveal how evil she was that it required a sacrifice of blood to use. Makes sense though, she's obsessed with the color red. I didn't how else to protect so I came here ready to spend my life trapped here, because like I've said a hundred times I will always protect you, it's my job."

Cheena was taken back by his devotion to her. She hugged him and cuddled up to him, "Thank you….I don't know what to say except thank you so much, Kakarot."

Gohan sat there silently watching his daughter and her cousin and kept thinking what to do about them, or how they really felt for each other. He decided to not to say anything about his concerns unless it ever became a problem. But then everyone was surprised when Angelica's body began to squirm and moan in pain and then tiny cuts began to appear on her body, a sign of the nightmare she was in affecting her real body.

Gohan smiled, "Looks like Goten is winning."

Back in Angelica's dream Goten revealed himself to the greatly injured Angelica and approached her with an almost evil grin.

"How does it feel to be helpless in your own mind. At the mercy of an invader who made his way into what is to supposed to be your most private sanctuary. To have your own dreams warped by someone else. Just like you did to us." He said and then kicked her hard in the face.

"That was for almost raping my son!" Goten shouted and then punched her while she was trying to sit back up, "That was for hurting my neice! And this…" He picked her up by her long black hair and began to violently punch her in the spine over and over, "Is for making me have to break the bond with my wife!"

Angelica was coughing up blood both in her dream and in the real world.

"Please…don't kill me. Show mercy." She pleaded with him.

Goten placed his palm on her back and whispered, "Sorry sweetheart but I'm not as nice as my father is to the enemy." Ki began to form in his palm and he said, "And this is for being such a BITCH!" He shot a kamehameha right through her stomach. The dream Angelica disappeared and in one loud scream her real body let out a scream and then went motionless.

With that Goten felt himself forced out of Angelica's dream and soon he reappeared in the real world. Everyone rushed over to Goten. He rubbed his forehead and smiled at them.

"Hey guys, I have the biggest headache right now." Goten joked.

"You okay, bro?" Gohan asked while helping his little brother sit up.

Goten nodded, "Yeah, just…" Goten looked at his son and looked down in shame, "I'm sorry for what I did, Kakarot. Daddy had to do it…I…I'm really sorry you had to see that."

Kakarot hugged his dad, "You did it to protect us. That's what daddies do no matter what. I can't be mad at you for doing what a good dad would do. Mom will understand too, daddy."

Goten wrapped his arms around his son and told him, "I love you, buddy."

"Love you too, daddy." Kakarot replied.

"Now how about we go home and get some dinner?" Goten smiled.

Kakarot nodded, "Sounds good to me! I haven't eaten since I got to this smelly castle."

"I could use a bite to eat myself." They heard a voice come Angelica's body.

Before anyone had time to react Angelica's now transformed body jumped at Cheena, tackled her to the ground and bite a chunk of her shoulder off. Cheena screamed in immense pain. Everyone was stunned to see that Angelica had transformed into a monster form with sharp fangs.

Kakarot kicked Angelica hard sending her flying across the room. He cradled his injured cousin in his arms and cried, "Cheena, just hang on!" But she was in so much pain right now she just kept screaming.

Gohan kneeled next to his daughter and begged her to try and stay calm, "Honey calm down or you could go into shock. Please baby girl, you have to stay calm."

It was too late though Cheena began to shake violently in Kakarot's arms. Kakarot was freaking out, "No please! I can't lose you! Cheena…DON'T DIE!" He screamed.

Goten had seen enough. That last attack from Angelica was enough to push him to the point that only one other man had managed to do, Ryo. Goten's eyes became white, he grew sharp fangs, and his hair got longer and spikier and turned red. In a roaring yell he jumped over to a weakened Angelica who was trying to escape.

He grabbed her by the legs and ripped them off. The witch screamed in pain. Then Goten picked her up by her head and said, "You use black magic so much it's twisted your body into this monster! Now know the terror of a real monster!" Goten showed no mercy as his energy caused Angelica's entire body to be electrocuted and then burst into flames and finally her body exploded.

Goten fell out of his transformed state and fell to the ground unconscious. Kakarot was so focused on Cheena right now he wasn't worried about his father's transformation. Right now he had to save his cousin. He spotted Angelica's potion cabinet and hoped there was something in there that would save her.

"Uncle Gohan, hold her." Kakarot handed her to him.

Kakarot ran to the cabinet and found something that just might work. He kneeled next to Cheena and prayed this actually would work.

"This potion might heal her but just like the amulet it requires a sacrifice and something else." Kakarot explained.

Gohan looked at him and begged, "Just do whatever it takes to save her, please Kakarot!"

Kakarot drank half the potion and then poured the rest in Cheena's mouth. "Please work…" He whispered.

He leaned down and gave Cheena a kiss on the lips, a passionate kiss. Slowly her shoulder regenerated and her body became calm and still again, she was healed and sleeping peacefully now. Kakarot on the other hand became much more pale than he normally was, he looked almost snow white. He was skinnier too, his natural saiyan muscles seemingly gone.

Kakarot gave a weak smile to Gohan and said, "A potion that transfers one person's life force to another through a kiss….that was the sacrifice…my life force…" Kakarot closed his eyes and fell back, lightless oblivion taking him.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note:** So the last chapter answered many questions left opened up until this point. Not to mention it landed on a cliff hanger there. It also contained things that makes you wonder how the characters will deal with some issues. So everyone I present to you the next chapter. Sit back, enjoy, and review!

Exhaustion, weakness, a lack of natural strength, dizziness, and hungry were just a few things that described what Kakarot was feeling right now. He slowly opened his tired eyes and was able to make out some small details that he recognized as part of his room. He could hear the muffled whispers of a familiar female voice. It took him a moment but he recognized the voice.

"Ch…Cheena…" He weakly whispered just enough wear his cousin could hear him.

Cheena was sitting next to his bed and shook his hand, "Kakarot wake up! Come on please!"

Kakarot's vision became clear and he saw the happy face of Cheena looking down at him.

"Thank God, you're awake!" She was smiling but tears were forming in her eyes, "You had me worried, you stupid idiot."

Kakarot smiled weakly, "Sorry about that. How long have I been sleeping?"

"Almost a week." She answered.

She wrapped him in a hug and sighed in relief, "My dad told me everything that happened. You saved my life Kakarot, and you could have lost yours."

Kakarot look at his hand and said, "In fact I was expecting I would die. I gave you my life force so how can I still be alive?"

"Bulma said it was probably because you're a saiyan. You're saiyan strength let you give enough life force to save me, but also allowed you to keep enough to survive." Cheena explained.

Kakarot tried sitting up but found it painful to do so, "Jeez I can barely move with getting all dizzy and feeling weak."

Cheena gently pushed him back down on the bed, "Bulma also said it make take some time for you to get back to normal and until then you have to stay in bed and rest." She said looking down at him.

His eyes met hers as he looked up at his cousin, "So….did your dad tell you about how my life force was transferred to you?"

She blushed, "Uh yeah…he did."

"How do you feel about it?" Kakarot asked seriously.

Cheena took a moment to find the right words to say and answered, "Well…I…"

"Dinner is ready, Cheena." Roza said as she opened the door.

Cheena and Kakarot looked at Roza like they had just been caught trying to pull a prank. Roza froze in shock at the way Cheena was positioned above Kakarot, her hands placed on his chest. Roza quickly came back to reality and had to remember that they were just 5 years old, so it was probably just an innocent mistake. If they were about 10 or so years older she would have assumed something a little more devious was going on even though they are cousins.

Then reality hit her again when she realized her son was finally awake, "Kakarot!" She ran and jumped onto the bed nearly causing Cheena to fall off. The 5 year old girl backed away so Roza could hug her son. "You had mommy worried so much! How are you feeling, baby?" Roza kissed his cheek.

Kakarot gave his mother a weak smiled and told her, "I still feel really tired and a little dizzy."

"Well I know just the thing to make you feel better. I've made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and fried squash. For desert I got us an ice cream cake. So how about I go get the food and we can all have dinner in here since you can't move too well." She said with a big smile.

Kakarot nodded, "I would love that, mom."

Kakarot could only smile as he watched his mother leave the room, "It feels so nice to be back home. I've really missed my mom." Kakarot quickly remembered what his father had did with Angelica and had to ask, "Cheena, remember when my dad broke that bond thingy he had with my mom. Is my mom mad at him, what happened when we got home!"

Cheena smiled and told him, "Calm down, Kakarot. Your mom was too worried about you to be mad at your dad when we first got back. After they got you in bed and knew you would recover, your mom was pretty upset with uncle Goten. Your dad broke down crying and begged her for forgiveness. At first aunt Roza was going to walk off and leave him there crying but my dad explained why your dad did what he did. When your mom heard the reason why he did it, she kneeled down in front of him and hugged him. She told uncle Goten she would have done the same thing, and she knew it must not have been an easy choice but that he did the right thing. After that my dad told me your mom and dad fixed their bond thingy."

Kakarot sighed in relief, "That's good to hear. I thought they would be fighting each other or something. So Cheena about the…"

But before Kakarot could finish his mom and dad came in with enough plates of food to fill all of their appetites.

Goten sat next to his son and gave him a hug, "I heard what you did to save Cheena. I am so proud of you, Kakarot. You're a real hero now."

"I am?" Kakarot asked.

Goten nodded, "Physical strength doesn't make someone a hero, it's the strength of your heart that makes you a hero. The ultimate proof of a heroic heart is the willingness of someone to lay down their life for another. That is what makes you a hero."

Cheena nodded and blushed, "You're right, Uncle Goten. Kakarot is my hero."

Kakarot was blushing too, "I don't know what to say…"

Cheena grabbed a chicken leg and handed it to him, "Don't say anything then. Just stuff your face. I know you must be really hungry."

Kakarot made a slight laugh, "I can't deny that. I'm starving."

The 4 saiyans we're finally able to enjoy a peaceful dinner once again. With the threat of Angelica gone, the saiyans could relax and get back to enjoying the peace.

Another calm setting could be found in the house next door where Gohan was enjoying a cup of coffee with his wife.

"So, Miira's real name was Angelica. I guess that explains why Baba couldn't find anything about her in Other World's records." Videl said and took a sip of coffee.

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, but after we got home Baba went back to Other World and finally found Angelica's file. Turns out everything Angelica told us about her past was true. She really was the guardian of Planet Vegeta and she lured Frieza to the planet knowing full well of his paranoia and the chance he would destroy the saiyans. Afterwards she escape from Other World and hid in that crimson space realm."

Videl looked angry, "And to think she was going to rape either Kakarot or Goten just so she could have a god-like baby with both the power of the saiyan race and her magical abilities. Then use her own child as a tool to exact her revenge. That witch was just sinister."

Videl thought about the whole thing for a moment and something began to weigh on her mind, "I don't get one thing though. Why was she so focused on getting Cheena out of Kakarot's life? How would Cheena have prevented her from raping Kakarot?"

Gohan nearly choked on his coffee and answered, "Well um you know…umm…" Gohan decided to not beat around the bush and just come out with his concern, "I think Angelica may have believed that Kakarot is in love with Cheena. So he wanted to remove her from the picture to break Kakarot's heart and make him easier to control."

Videl's eyes widened, "What! Why would she think that! First they are 5 years old, they don't even know what falling in love is. Second they are cousins, and while I admit they are pretty close to each other I don't think they would ever have those types of feelings for each other."

Gohan took another sip of his coffee and sighed, "Are you sure about that?"

Videl looked up at her husband with a puzzled look on her face, "What are you trying to say, Gohan?"

Gohan sat back and spoke his mind, "When Goten was fighting Angelica in her dream, I saw how Kakarot and Cheena were acting with each other. Kakarot is extremely devoted to Cheena and…I'll be honest they looked almost like a couple."

"But they're just kids. They don't know what true love like that is." Videl tried to argue.

Gohan nodded, "I agree. However, the seeds of true love may be planting themselves in their hearts and one day those two are going to grow up and when they do those seeds may bloom into a romance."

Videl realized he was absolutely right, "So what do we do?"

Gohan looked at Videl and sighed, "Well we can't let it happen. We can't let our daughter grow up to marry her own cousin. Not too mention I'm starting to become more and more wary of Kakarot."

"Why?" Videl asked.

Gohan looked at her rather seriously, "Something about him doesn't feel right. I just feel there is a darker side to him. I know I shouldn't think like that about my nephew…but I just can't shake this bad feeling I get about him."

"Have to talked with Goten about this?" She asked him

Gohan nodded, "We had a little argument about it. He's probably forgotten about it by now. I don't think we can trust him on this situation though. He acted like if they did end up together it wasn't a big deal. He even said I should be happy if they end up together because Kakarot would take care of her. But Goten is blinded by his fatherly love for his son, he can't see what I feel about that kid."

Suddenly the phone began ringing and Gohan picked it up, "Hello? Hey Bulma. What? Yeah I can be over it a few minutes. Is something wrong? Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye." He turned the phone off.

"Why do you have to go to Bulma's place?" Videl asked.

Gohan shrugged, "No idea. She wouldn't tell me. She just said she had something important to talk about and that she couldn't think of anyone else better to tell."

Videl nodded, "Okay. Well try and be home before bedtime. It's almost 8:00 pm already."

He smiled, "I will honey. By the way where is Pan at?"

Videl smiled, "On a date with Trunks."

"How did they get the media off their backs?" Gohan asked curiously.

Videl giggled, "It was actually pretty funny. Vegeta was getting tired of all the reporters surrounding Capsule Corp. So he picks up a space ship with his bare hands, throws it into space, and the next thing you know the front page headlines are about UFO's flying over West City. In other words Trunks' love life is old news now."

"That's Vegeta for you! Be back by 10:00!" Gohan said as he took off for Capsule Corp.

It wasn't even 10 minutes and Gohan was at Capsule Corp ringing the door bell. Bulma was there to greet him, but she didn't seem too happy.

"Bulma what is going on?" Gohan asked worryingly.

"Follow me to my lab." She led him downstairs to her computer lab and pulled up some scans of when she was trying to see what was causing Goten, Kakarot, and Cheena to have the nightmares.

"I don't get it. It's just the scans but we know that Angelica was causing the nightmares so…" Gohan spoke but Bulma interrupted him.

"This isn't about nightmares, Gohan. It's about Kakarot. I'm sure you know Goten probably has a few mental problems after the crap he went through. But some mental disorders can be passed from parent to child. Take a look at Kakarot's scan. Notice he has a lot of red spots on his brain?" She explained.

Gohan nodded, "Yeah but what does it mean? Does Kakarot have some kind of subtle mental disorder he inherited from Goten?"

Bulma looked at Gohan and didn't really want to verbally admit this. She couldn't tell Roza or Goten about this, Chi-Chi wouldn't take it well, and Goku couldn't keep a secret. She decided Gohan would be the best one in the Son family to trust with this information.

She breathed deeply and said, "I think Kakarot has the ability to transform into something like the legendary super saiyan form."

Gohan's jaw dropped, "You mean like Broly did?"

She nodded, "I think it's something similar to that, but also different. I think it's a form that is caused by the mixture of human and saiyan blood. In other words, only hybrids can use it. You and Goten have both experienced a taste of that power. Remember your hidden power you had as a kid? That is where it came from. But you've grown more peaceful over the years so I think it's gone inert inside of you. Goten however can still call upon that type of power. He did twice, once in his fight with Ryo and again when he fought Angelica."

"You mean that weird super saiyan transformation where his hair went wild and he grew fangs and went crazy?" Gohan asked.

Bulma nodded, "Yes. But Goten is only half saiyan so he can only use it for a short period of time. Kakarot on the other hand is 3 quarters saiyan, thanks to his mother being a full blooded saiyan. So if he were to transform like that then who knows what he could do. Kakarot seemed to have inherit some of his father's mental disorders, they just haven't been triggered yet. If they were to be triggered and he undergoes the transformation then I don't know if even Super Saiyan 3 could stop him. In other words…Kakarot is really an unstable child."

Gohan sat down and sighed, "So I was right about him. I knew something wasn't right about that kid. I see why you couldn't tell his parents about this. Hearing that your son could be a mental time bomb, isn't exactly something many parents would take too well."

Bulma nodded, "Please don't tell anyone about this. Just keep an eye on him."

Goten nodded, "Don't worry I promise. I better get back to Videl. Goodnight, Bulma."

Gohan took off back to his home. He came into his room to find Videl already asleep. He cuddled up next to her and thought about what he had just learned from Bulma.

Back at Goten's house everyone was in bed too. Cheena once again decided to spend the night with Kakarot like she has so many times before. The sleepy young female yawned and cuddled her head against Kakarot's back.

Kakarot sighed in relief, "I'm so glad this stuff with Mii….I mean Angelica is over."

A tired Cheena answered, "Yeah…maybe now things can go back to being like they were before."

Kakarot waited for Cheena to fall asleep. He placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes, "I don't think things will be exactly the same." He turned his head to look at her sleeping peacefully. Then he closed his eyes and soon he was asleep too.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** Sorry it has taken awhile to get this chapter up. I wasn't sure how exactly I wanted this chapter to go but I finally decided. I'm not going to give away too many hints so here you go everyone. Review and comment please.

It had been a month since Kakarot was rescued from Angelica's palace and things returned to normal. Well perhaps that wasn't completely true. Things were not totally normal. The adults had been acted kind of strange over the past month. It seemed everyone in the Son family was spending a lot of time at Grandpa Goku and Grandma Chi-Chi's house the past month. Kakarot hadn't been aware of it at all until about a week and a half ago when he finally had regained his strength and was able to move about the house and surrounding forest as he once did. Cheena on the other hand picked up on the strange situation almost as soon as it started. The young female saiyan had certainly inherited her father's tactical and intuitive observation skills which proved very useful in this situation. One thing she noticed that was certainly out of the ordinary was the fact that the Briefs family, Krillin's family, and even Piccolo were making visits a lot more often.

Kakarot was training with Cheena in their front yard. Kakarot was a little rusty after having been in bed for so long but quickly he was getting back to his regular fighting style and skills. The young boy spotted his parents leaving his grandparents' house, and moved himself out of his fighting stance when he caught the troubled look on his father's face. His mother was obviously trying to comfort him as she held one arm around his torso while her other hand gently rubbed his back.

"What's wrong, Kakarot?" Cheena asked as she noticed he was no longer in his fighting pose.

Kakarot pointed to his parents and answered, "My daddy's sad."

Cheena turned her head to look at her aunt and uncle and questioned, "I'm worried. Things have been weird lately. Something bad is going on. But why wont the grown ups tell us anything?"

Kakarot began to slowly walk toward his parents and said, "I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I want to know what they're hiding."

But Kakarot quickly froze where he stood when he saw his father kneel on the ground with his face buried in his hands and crying. Roza with her arms wrapped around him in a comforting embrace, whispering something to him.

Kakarot felt uneasy and lost the courage to approach his parents about the troubling situation.

"Is your daddy going to be alright?" Cheena asked with a worried expression as she now stood next to her cousin.

"I don't know…" Kakarot then paused and saw his mother with her faced buried into his father's back crying as well. "Cheena…I'm scared…I've never seen my parents like this."

Kakarot ran over to his parents with Cheena following. The tiny saiyan boy gave his father and mother a hug and began to play with his tail nervously, "Why are you crying?" Kakarot asked with an innocent soft voice filled with a deep concern.

Goten tried to regain his composure so his son wouldn't become suspicious of the reason behind these tears, "It's no big deal, son. Mommy and daddy just need some rest and we'll be fine." Goten gave a weak and obviously fake smile.

Kakarot was no fool, he could see through his father's attempt to hide the truth. "Liar!" He accused.

Roza's flinched slightly that her son would call his father that, "Kakarot! Don't talk to your dad that way! You know better than that!"

Kakarot glared at his mother, "But it's true isn't it? You both aren't being honest with me, right?"

Roza looked down in shame. This confirmed Kakarot's suspicions, "I knew it. Just tell me the truth, mommy. Cheena and I are part of this family too and if something bad is happening then we have a right to know."

Goten and Roza both sighed and began to think it over. Kakarot had a good point and they couldn't keep the sad truth hidden forever. Eventually one way or another both Cheena and Kakarot are going to find out.

Roza looked at her son's determined eyes and couldn't stand to lie to him, "Goten…maybe it is better if they know now. At least this way they can prepare for what is going to happen."

Goten looked at Roza and nodded, "I guess I you're right."

Roza pulled both her son and niece into her arms and began to explain is as soft a voice as a saiyan woman could muster, "Kakarot…Cheena…Grandma Chi-Chi hasn't been feeling well lately. She's been needing a lot of rest."

"Why doesn't she feel good, aunt Roza? Is she sick?" Cheena asked with a sad look on her face that would make even Vegeta want to shed a tear.

Roza nodded, "Yes sweetheart. She has a illness called cancer. You know what ki is, and how it flows through out your body, right? Well cancer is where bad cells spread through out your body and makes you very sick." Roza tried to explain.

"But she'll get better soon, right mommy?" Kakarot asked with a hopeful smile.

Roza closed her eyes and the kids felt their hearts sink when they saw tears trickling down her cheeks. Goten turned his head and did the same as his wife.

Kakarot and Cheena followed them and began to cry too, "She's not going to get better, is she mom?"

Roza shook her head, "No…I'm so sorry." She held the two kids tightly so they could all cry together, at least a little comfort could be found in that.

At that instant Videl rushed outside and frantically said, "You guys need to get in here right now!"

Goten's eyes widened, "Mother!" Was all he said in horrified tone before he disappeared into the house. He didn't need Videl to explain anything else, he knew what was about to happen.

Roza stood up and said, "Kids, stay outside." She didn't want them having to watch someone die at their young age.

But Kakarot grabbed his mom's leg and shook his head, "No! She's my grandma! I want….I want to say goodbye." He said shivering with tear filled eyes.

Roza picked up her son and Videl picked up her youngest daughter and they honored the wishes of their children and brought them to see their beloved grandmother one last time.

Goku sat next to the bed holding his wife's hand with tear filled eyes and shivering with sadness as he could feel her life force quickly slipping away.

"Chi-Chi…I….I don't want you to go away. If you stay I promise I'll get a job like you always wanted and I'll help clean the house like you always wanted…just please don't go…you're my mate…you're my Chi-Chi and I love you…" Goku begged though deep down he knew this day was going to come ever since he learned that saiyans age slower than humans. He knew he would be the one to watch her die.

Chi-Chi smiled weakly and pulled her husband's spiky haired head down so she could give him one final kiss, "Goku…there is something I always wanted to ask you….when we fought at the world martial arts tournament you told me that sometimes forget to think before you say things, but that your heart always knows what it wants….then you asked me to marry you. What did you mean by that? What did your heart want?"

Goku rubbed his cheek against her hand and answered truthfully, "I'm not good with words Chi-Chi…I can't really describe what I felt…all I knew was that I was missing something….something that fighting all the strongest fighters in the world could never fill….then when we were searching for the bansho fan to put the fire out at your father's palace, it was then I felt that empty place inside me fill up…and for the first time I felt what it was like to be in love and I never wanted to give up that wonderful feeling…and that's…." Goku broke down into tears, "That's why I can't let you go now! Those seven years in Other World without you were so painful. I would lay down to rest and I wished you were there next to me so bad….please don't leave me…please Chi-Chi…." Goku begged wishing his pleas would heal her.

She rubbed her fingers through his spiky hair, "It's going to be okay…it's not forever Goku…we'll be together again one day…besides I'll always be watching you from above, even in death I have to make sure you and the boys stay out of trouble…" She smiled.

She turned her attention to her two sons and their wives, "Gohan…Goten…you've made me so proud. You married two girls I know really love you and you've given me such beautiful grandchildren…you're both amazing men and amazing fathers. Gohan…forgive me for pushing your studies so hard….and Goten I'm sorry I couldn't protect you baby…"

The two boys kneeled down and put their arms over their mother, "I love you, mom." They both said together and cried softly.

Chi-Chi looked at Roza and Videl and no words needed to be said between the women. The wives of Gohan and Goten knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted them to be there for her sons when they were going through the type of pain no super powers in the world could stop, pain of the heart, and the two girls were more than happy to do that.

"I love you mom…" Both girls said softly to the woman that was truly like a mother to them. Videl whose mother had died in child birth, and Roza whose mother used her as a tool of revenge. To both girls Chi-Chi filled the role of a mother in their lives.

"Grandma…" The shaken voice of Kakarot spoke.

Chi-Chi motioned for her grandchildren to come over and sit with her on the bed. She cuddled the two youngest ones close to her while Pan sat next to them.

"Pan…you are such a beautiful girl. Don't ever doubt that. Promise me you will always go after the best in life and never let anyone put you down." Chi-Chi asked.

Pan leaned down and kissed her cheek, "I promise grandma." She whispered as two tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Cheena…Kakarot…you may not remember but when you were babies I asked you two to take care of each other." Chi-Chi explained.

Kakarot and Cheena both nodded, "We remember."

Chi-Chi smiled proudly at their answer, "Promise me again that you'll always take care of and protect Cheena, Kakarot. And Cheena promise me you'll be there for Kakarot if he ever falls into a dark place and needs a light."

Both five year olds nodded and with tears slowly making their way down their faces they answered together, "I promise."

Chi-Chi turned to look at her husband and her eyes said everything that needed to be said. Goku could see that she too was well aware of where Cheena and Kakarot's future was heading just as Goku was aware.

Goku nodded and whispered only loud enough to where Chi-Chi could hear, "I promise I'll make sure it all turns out alright."

Chi-Chi gave her husband one last smiled and closed her eyes, then whispered, "See you again." And with that her life force faded.

A couple of days later Goku kneeled in front of the fresh grave that belonged to his beloved wife. He laid fresh flowers down for her. He was accompanied by three of his closest and most long time known friends: Bulma, Krillin, and Master Roshi. All three kneeled beside him for comfort.

Finally Goku was able to say what he needed to say to move on, "I wont say goodbye, Chi-Chi. All I can say is…See you again one day, my beloved Chi-Chi."


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:** I have to admit, even I was about to cry typing up that last chapter. But it's time for the story to advance and this time I'll be doing another time jump so enjoy everyone.

Three years have passed since the Son family had to say goodbye to Chi-Chi who was a beloved mother, wife, and grandmother. Gohan and Goten were able to make it through the tragedy thanks to the comfort of their wives, and of course Cheena and Kakarot comforted each other along with being comforted by their parents. But things were not as easy for Goku. No matter how much time passed his heart still ached every time he would lay down alone at night and wake up to find his beautiful mate wasn't there.

Goten noticed his dad only seemed to keep falling deeper into depression. Goku didn't eat like he used to or train like he used to and his heart warming grin the Son boys had inherited from him had become a rare expression on his heroic face. Goten decided to talk with his dad and try to help him through this. He knew it wasn't easy to keep going without mother around but Goten wanted his happy go lucky father back, because lately it felt like he had lost both of his parents.

Goku was sitting on his couch drinking a glass of ice cold coke and staring intensely at his wedding picture. The savior of the universe put his glass down and released a depressing sigh.

"I could have been a better husband to her. I know I had to keep training to make sure I was ready if there was ever a new threat to emerge, but I should have spent less time training and more time with her. I was so stupid to choose to stay in Other World for seven years. I must have had a really inflated ego to believe all the threats to Earth simply arose because of me. The Earth wasn't any less safer with me living here, but my family sure was hurting because I chose to leave them." Goku's grief turned into anger, anger at himself.

Goku turned his attention to the floor that could seriously use a good mopping, "Three years I've spent without her cuddled in my arms at night, but she had to spend seven years without me. Seven years of hurting like this…how could I have hurt her like that? I just want her back so I can make up for what I did…I want my Chi-Chi."

Goku's head jerked up at the sound of knocking coming from the door. He opened the door to find his youngest child with a nervous smile like he couldn't decide how should be acting right now.

"Come on in, son. I just made some tea." Goku invited his son into the kitchen.

Goten sat there looking into his cup and sighed, "Dad, I'm just going to come out and say it. I know you haven't been yourself since mom passed away. I know it must get pretty lonely living here all by yourself so I talked with Roza and she and I were thinking…maybe you would like to come live with us?"

Goku gave his son a small smile, "That's nice of you to offer but I couldn't do that. That's your home and you and Roza need your privacy. I would just be getting in the way."

Goten shook his head, "You know that is just not true dad. Besides I know Kakarot would really love it if you came to live with us."

Goku took a sip of tea, "Goten, your house is right next to mine. It's not like I never see the little guy."

"I know that but it's just having people there when you get ready to go to bed or when you wake up in the morning you want someone there, don't you? Besides Roza cooks pretty well, not as good as mom but don't tell her I said that." Goten froze when he realized he brought up his mother.

He looked at his father's expression suddenly turn depressing, "Dad, I'm sorry."

"No it's fine, Goten. We need to remember your mother." Goku tried his best to smile, "She was the best cook in the universe, wasn't she?"

Goten nodded sadly, "Yeah, she was an amazing mom. Strict at times but she always had a kind heart."

The young demi-saiyan began to recall random memories of when he was a kid, just little things like scrapping his knee and his mom applying a bandage with care. Or the bed time stories she would read. Before he realized it, Goten was starting to shed tears.

"Mother…" He whispered sadly.

Goku stood up and gave his son a hug, "It's okay, son. I miss her too. Maybe you're right. Maybe it would be better if I moved in with you guys."

Goten nodded as he tried to recompose himself, "Sounds like a plan. How about you come by for dinner tonight? We're having a hug pot of spaghetti and meatballs, and salad too."

Goku couldn't deny that did sound delicious, "I'd love to, son."

Goten's eyes widened and he quickly jumped to his feet, "I can't believe I forgot! Kakarot has a dentist appointment today! I've got like 5 minutes to have him to the dentist to get a cavity filled."

Goku smiled, "These are the type of everyday situations where instant transmission really comes in handy."

Goten smiled back, "Thanks dad."

Goku and Goten headed outside where Cheena and Kakarot now eight years old were enjoying their lunch which consisted of BBQ sandwiches, potato chips, and soda. Kakarot took three giant bites out of a sandwich and that was all it took to finish it.

"So Cheena, I was thinking we should enter the world martial arts tournament this year. They're starting a new tag team division and we make a pretty good tag team, don't we?" Kakarot suggested.

Cheena nodded, "Well of course. But why do you want to enter the tournament? It's not like anyone could give us real competition."

Kakarot ate a chip, "That's true, but I think it would cheer grandpa Goku up if he saw us fight in the tournament."

Cheena smiled, "Oh now I get it. That is a great idea, Kakarot!"

Cheena noticed her uncle and grandpa approaching and waved at them.

Kakarot jumped up and ran toward his father, "Hey dad guess what! Cheena and I want to fight in the tournament!"

Goten blinked his eyes a little confused as to why his son would want to fight in a tournament he knew he could easily win, "Really? Well if it's okay with your mom and Cheena's parents then I guess you can. But first you have a dentist appointment."

Kakarot took a step back, "Oh no you are not taking me to that awful place! The dentist will stick that big shot in my gum and it will hurt!"

Goten couldn't help but agree with his son. Goten and Kakarot both seemed to have the same fear of needles as their father did. "Look I know it isn't any fun to get a shot. But when I was a kid I had to get shots too. Although to be completely honest with you I didn't need a lot of them since I'm half saiyan but my mom insisted I get them anyways…"

Goten froze again as he brought up his mother once more. Goku's smile disappeared quickly. Kakarot looked at the two grown ups with concern.

"Daddy…I'm ready to go to the dentist now." Kakarot said without a fuss, knowing his father was in no mood for it.

Goten picked up his son and Kakarot wrapped his tail around his father's arm. Goku placed his hand on Goten's shoulder and Cheena grabbed a hold of her grandpa as they were all transported to the dentist parking lot thanks to instant transmission.

Inside Goten quickly signed the paper work and handed it back to the nurse at the front desk. Cheena and Kakarot sat in the waiting room silently watching TV. Goku looked at Goten and patted his son's shoulder.

"Goten, don't feel bad for bringing up your mother. I'm happy you remember her so fondly. Seriously son, don't feel like you aren't allowed to remember her. You loved her, we all did, and we'll never forget her." Goku tried to assure his son everything was fine.

"Thanks dad." Goten said to his father with a small smile.

"Son Kakarot, the doctor will see you now." A nurse said from the door.

"You want me to go with you?" Goten offered.

Kakarot shook his head, "No dad, I'm not a little kid. I got this."

Goten rolled his eyes, "Kakarot, you're only eight years old."

"Can I go?" Cheena asked sweetly and looked at Kakarot with that innocent expression he couldn't ignore.

Kakarot sighed, "Sure Cheena, come on." He smiled.

She jumped up and followed him back to the room where he had to wait for the dentist.

"Alright sweetheart, I have to give you a shot first to numb you and then the dentist will be in here in a few minutes to fill those nasty cavities." The nurse said sweetly.

Kakarot gulped and nodded, "Sure…okay…" He said nervously.

He slowly opened his mouth and just as he felt the sharp point of the needle pierce his gum, he also felt a small warm hand covering his own and glanced over to see it was Cheena. She was comforting him despite the fact he was trying to act like a grown up. Before he knew it the shot was out of his mouth and the pain gone.

"There we go. The dentist should be here in about ten minutes. But no kissy kissy stuff in the mean time." The nurse joked.

Kakarot blushed, "Oh no you see we're cousins actzully." Kakarot's mouth was starting to go numb already.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry about that." The nurse apologized.

Cheena giggled and kissed Kakarot's cheek, "Yeah no kissy kissy or my daddy might beat you up." She joked.

The nurse left but thought the two kids were adorable none the less.

Cheena sat back in a chair in the corner of the room and sighed, "Kakarot…this may be a bad time to bring this up but…um my parents want me to start public school. Have your parents said anything about you going to public school?"

Kakarot simply nodded since if he talked it would come out all muffled.

"I'm kind of afraid about the whole thing though." Cheena admitted.

Kakarot wasn't really afraid of going to school, he just thought it would be really boring and he just really wanted to hang out with Cheena all day. He wasn't interested in school.

"But if we're going to school together then I'll be okay. You did say you would always protect me right?" She asked knowing full well what his answer would be.

Kakarot simply nodded again and gave her a smile.

Right then the dentist came in and Kakarot had his cavities filled. Later that night Goten, Roza, Kakarot, and Goku were enjoying spaghetti and meatballs.

"This is really good, Roza! Goten was right, you are an excellent cook." Goku complimented.

Roza blushed, "Thank you, Goku." Roza thought about Chi-Chi and how she had taught her how to cook all of Goten's favorite dishes.

"So Kakarot, you're mother and I have been thinking…school starts in a couple of months and I think it's about time you started before you get too far behind." Goten brought the issue up to his son.

Kakarot sighed, "Dad, I'm a fighter. School is for people who want to become college professors like uncle Gohan is. I'd rather just lay back and hang out with Cheena."

"Videl told me they she's planning to enroll Cheena in public school at the beginning of the year too. You wouldn't want Cheena going down to school all alone would you?" Roza asked, playing on Kakarot's protectiveness toward Cheena.

Kakarot played with a meatball with his fork and sighed, "Alright mom, I will go to school if Cheena does."

Goku grinned and poked his grandson's shoulder, "You really like Cheena, don't you?"

Kakarot nearly choked on the meatball he was trying to swallow, "What! Uh no of course not! What makes you say that, grandpa!"

"Yeah, I mean they are cousins." Roza said as she rubbed her lip with a napkin.

Goku blinked, "Oh I didn't mean like that. I just meant they're best friends and all." Goku laughed.

Kakarot nodded, "Yep, she's my best friend."

Goten looked at his father questioningly, "Besides even if Kakarot tried to make a move on her, Gohan would be pretty mad." Goten said in a half joking way. The hybrid had an idea that his older brother had a negative disposition toward Kakarot, but didn't want the rest of the family aware of it. No reason to start trouble unless Gohan did something that forced Goten to take up his more violent fatherly duties.

Roza glared over at her husband and thought to herself, "Who the hell does he think he's fooling. I can tell when he's hiding something. Looks like he and I will have a very interesting conversation before we go to sleep tonight."

"Goku could you do me a favor and put the leftovers in the fridge? Kakarot you can help your grandpa clean up too. I suddenly feel like I need to lay down." Roza said in a soft tone to try and sound like she was feeling sick. "Oh and Goten could you help me get into bed?"

Goten nodded and smiled, "Of course I will." The hybrid stood up and walked with his wife upstairs.

As soon as they were in the bedroom she locked the door and smirked, "So my dear husband, what are you hiding?"

"What do you mean?" Goten asked confused.

She placed her finger on his chin and gave him a suspicious smirk, "You're a terrible liar, you know that? What is this thing about Gohan, Kakarot, and Cheena you're not being completely honest about?"

Goten frowned, "Roza it's no big deal. Let's just not talk about it, it will only lead to trouble."

"If it includes my son then I have every right to know what is going on. Now don't make me angry Goten, you don't want to see a full blooded saiyan woman when she is angry." She gave him a frightening glare.

"Oh alright. But please don't get mad." Goten asked.

Goten sat down on the bed and began to explain, "Gohan thinks Cheena and Kakarot are getting too close…if you get what I mean. He also has hinted he thinks Kakarot will grow up to be nothing but trouble."

Roza gripped her fist, "But why! Kakarot has done nothing wrong. Kakarot has done nothing but been good to Cheena. Goten, I'm sorry to say this but I think you're brother is kind of paranoid."

Goten nodded, "I hate to say it but I kind of agree."

Roza looked at the window and sighed, "I'm starting to see what Videl was talking about."

"What do you mean?" Goten asked.

Roza looked at Goten and said, "I shouldn't be telling you this. After all what is said between wives should stay between wives but Gohan is your brother so here it is. Videl told me sometimes she feels like Gohan doesn't even notice her. She said when she and Gohan first started dating that he was so passionate, but that over the past few years he seemed to just kind of ignore her. I'm starting to see why she would think that. He's so focused on this whole paranoid thing that he hasn't been paying attention to his wife."

"Really? Poor Videl…I just wish I could talk to Gohan about all of this but he wont listen to me anymore." Goten explained.

"You think your father could talk to him?" Roza asked.

Goten nodded, "I think so. After all Gohan adores father, and dad…well let's just say that between Gohan and I, Gohan is probably the favorite."

Roza shook her head, "You know your dad doesn't have a favorite."

"Look I know dad loves us both dearly but he and Gohan bonded in a way I could never with my father. It's to be expected with Gohan being the first born son and all. Gohan was mom's favorite too. But I'm older now and that doesn't bother me like it used to." Gohan admitted.

Roza looked at him sincerely and asked, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He stood up and kissed his beautiful wife. "Now how about we get some sleep. I'll tell dad to talk to Gohan tomorrow."

"Alright. Just let me go say goodnight to Kakarot." She said before she headed down the hall to her son's room.

Goten looked out the window at the calm grassy field and sighed, "Brother…" He whispered to himself.

Then he looked at his reflection in the window glass and for a second he could of sword he saw his reflection turn to Ryo's face. Goten shook his head and sighed, "I must really need some sleep."


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note:** Sorry this took a little awhile to post, my web browser has been acting stupid again. Anyways enjoy and review as always.

"Has the jury reached a decision?" Asked the judge

"We have your honor." Answered a female jurist.

She cleared her throat and continued, "We the jury find Son Goten guilty of all charges including assault and rape of a minor."

Goten's eyes widened and his heart sank. He looked over at his father and said sadly, "Dad…help me…" Tears starting to fill his eyes.

Before he could hear his father's response the cops had him in handcuffs and began to escort him out of the court room.

"Mom! Dad!" Goten screamed frighteningly.

Chi-Chi was in tears and Goku reached out to his son and told him, "I'll get you out. I'll get Bulma to pull some strings or something. Just don't do anything rash until then. We'll make this right."

Goten nodded and said, "I trust you, dad." Was the last thing he could say before he was forced out of the court room and into a police car to be transported to a prison.

"No…I didn't rape her…I wouldn't do that…I'm a good person. Prison is for people who want to hurt other people….but I protect innocent people so why is this happening to me!" Goten mumbled frantically.

Goten was in prison taking a shower. All the other prisoners were glaring at him. The young half saiyan hated being exposed to them. He always tried to finish his shower quickly. Sometimes he would just wash his hair and be done with it.

"Hey bitch!" A rough looking old man said to Goten. "Heard you got put away for raping a minor. We all did some bad shit in our lives but messing with a underage kid is just fucked up." The man said angrily.

Goten lowered his head and shivered, "I didn't do anything to her. I would never do anything like that to anyone."

The older prisoner slapped Goten's shoulder and smirked, "Sure I believe you, kid. The problem is no one else here does." The man said sarcastically showing he obviously didn't believe Goten's innocents.

The other prisoners seemed to agree as the began gathering around Goten, all of them with disgusting smirks on their face.

"See I tend to follow the belief of 'an eye for an eye' and since you seem to like raping kids, I think it's only fair you let us have a little fun with you…kid." The older prisoner said and then grabbed Goten's ass and tried to bend him over.

However the young half saiyan wasn't about to let this happen. He knocked the man away and as the other prisoners began to tackle him Goten fought them off as well.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Goten shouted. "Listen I could hurt all of you….but I don't want to. I swear I didn't rape that girl. I shouldn't be in here….but I am in here and I just want to be left alone. I'm not bothering any of you so just let me be…please…" The young teenager begged.

"We'll leave you alone…after we're finishing screwing your sorry ass!" The prisoners tried to tackle him down again but Goten prepared to knock them away once more.

Unfortunately Goten wasn't able to use anywhere near his full strength because he hadn't been eating like a saiyan normally should. He was forced to have only 3 meals a day in prison and all the meals were small compared to even normal human meals, let alone the massive meals a saiyan should eat. In fact the lack of nutrition he has been suffering from has been causing him to have black out spells which he was experiencing now.

Goten grasped his head and cursed under his breath, "Damn it…not now…"

Next thing he knew he was face down on the ground with the prisoners keeping him still. He couldn't summon the strength to fight back and cried knowing what was about to happen. The first thrust was painful and forced the young saiyan to cry out.

"AAAAAHHHH! No…stop it! Please! IT HURTS!" Goten begged.

"I bet the girl who raped was saying the same thing to you when you ruined her. So how does it feel to suffer the same fate you sick little bastard!" The old man spat.

Goten closed his eyes and cried as he was forced to suffer a half hour of being raped by what felt like at least 15 different guys. When it was all said and done Goten was left on the cold shower floor in a puddle of his own blood that was spilled in one of the most violating of ways. The water soon washed the blood away. And then…

"STOP IT!" Goten shouted as he woke up.

"Goten!" Roza said in horror as she awoke to find Goten thrashing next to her.

Roza attempted to grab her husband to calm him down but Goten responded by jumping out of bed and started thrashing about against the wall and then on the floor and was screaming.

"Get away from me! I didn't do anything wrong! Please don't do this to me, PLEASE!" Goten screamed.

Roza jumped out of bed and powered up enough to where she could control him. She put her arms around him and pleaded, "Goten, listen to me! It's okay! It was a nightmare! It was only a nightmare! Baby, please calm down! You're here safe at home with me!"

Goten's wide horrified eyes closed as he relaxed in his wife's arms, "I'm at home….it was a nightmare…no…a memory…"

Roza's eyes widened, "Memory!"

"Momma…daddy? Is everything okay? I heard screaming." Roza heard her little boy's voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Don't let him see me like this….no boy should see his father like this…I look pathetic…" Goten told Roza.

Roza looked at the door and answered, "Everything is fine, Kakarot. Daddy just saw a big snake that got in the house somehow. Daddy doesn't like snakes very much." Roza said half jokingly trying to ease her son's worry

"A snake? Can I see?" Kakarot asked curiously.

"Uh no honey not tonight. Maybe in the morning, mommy and daddy are tired right now." Roza told him.

"Your mom is right, kiddo. Come on lets go downstairs and grandpa will make you a late night snack." Roza heard Goku console his grandson. Then she heard their footsteps heading downstairs and sighed.

"Goten…what happened?" Roza asked as she stroked his tear stained cheek.

Goten looked down, "I can't tell you…I had a nightmare about a memory…but I can't tell you the memory…"

"Why not? Goten, there isn't anything you could tell me that would make me mad at you." Roza explained sweetly.

Goten shook his head, "It's not something that would make you mad….it's something I'm ashamed of…something I should have been able to stop easily but was too weak to…" Goten began to cry softly.

"Goten…honey…I wont tell anyone else unless you want me to…I'm your wife, you can tell me anything. I'm not going to think anything about your past would be embarrassing." Roza explained hoping whatever it was he had to tell her that it was something small like the normal embarrassing things people do when they are kids or teenagers. But she knew if it was bad enough to give him a nightmare then it was probably serious.

"Roza….I was…I was…" He gulped nervously and confessed, "I was raped."

She gasped in horror, "Oh my God…when did this happen?" She asked as she pulled her crying mate into a comforting hug and proceeded to hug his waist with her soft tail.

"When I was in prison…" Goten admitted.

Roza felt her heart sink. One thought was going through her head right now, "Then it's my fault…he wouldn't have been there to be raped if it wasn't for me…"

"I'm so sorry…" Roza apologized.

Goten cuddled up in her embrace and shook his head, "I know what you're thinking and don't you dare start blaming yourself again….I just…I'm so screwed up…my mind is just so messed up…"

Roza nuzzled her nose into his spiky black hair, "Goten, it's nothing for you to be ashamed of. A victim should never feel ashamed…it's not your fault…it is my fault. I'm not beating myself up…I'm just stating the truth…I'm partly responsible for you being in prison and thus it's my fault you were raped too. I'm sorry I screwed things up so badly for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He admitted.

Those words shocked her, "What!"

"I would go through those 15 years of hell again if it meant they would lead me to you again. You're my wife now and we have a son I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. So I can't honestly wish that I could go back and change my past, because then I wouldn't have you or Kakarot. I'm just going to have to learn to put up with the pain that is left from how hard my past was. If it means then I get to keep you and Kakarot then that is a pain I'm willing to live with." Goten explained.

Roza hugged him tighter, "How am I supposed to respond to that?"

"Just promise you'll always love me and that when I am hurting you'll be there for me. That's all you have to do." Goten told her.

She nodded, "I promise I will, for the rest of my life and on through eternity I'll be yours."

In a matter of minutes Goten had fallen asleep. She watched as he slept like a little baby. She gently scooped him into her arms and carried him to bed. She laid there cuddled close to him and sighed.

"I still messed him up. I hate seeing him like this. Damn it I just wish he would have beat the hell out of me and got his revenge on me. Then maybe I could really move on from all of that stuff in the past. I know he forgave me…but deep down it still doesn't feel right. He has every right to treat me like crap after what I did…it is what I deserve…and maybe I'll just have to make him treat me like that." Roza said with a sadistic chuckle that wasn't evil but self loathing.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note:** Sorry if I happen to take a little while to update. My internet has been acting screwy so I have to work with that for now. Review and enjoy everyone.

"So what did you want to talk about, dad?" Gohan asked as he sat across his kitchen table from his father.

"How are you, Gohan?" Goku asked.

Gohan took a sip of tea and answered, "Fine. I miss mom though and Pan…" He said as he looked at the wedding picture of Trunks and Pan.

Trunks and Pan had gotten married about a year ago and moved in together at Capsule Corp.

Goku gave his son a reassuring smile, "You and Videl raised Pan well. You should be proud of yourself, Gohan."

"It's not Pan that I'm worried about….it's Cheena." Gohan admitted.

Goku seemed confused, "Why are you worried about Cheena?"

"Because of Kakarot." Gohan answered.

Goku sighed, "Gohan, he's your nephew. What is the big deal with him and Cheena being best friends. You know Kakarot would do anything for her."

"They're getting too close to each other, dad." Gohan argued.

Goku looked at Gohan, "What do you mean?"

Gohan sighed, "Don't act like you haven't notice. They're getting a little closer than cousins should be."

"They're 8 years old, Gohan. You mention the word 'sex' to them and they aren't going to know what it means. But lets say 7 years or so from now they do end up falling in love, would that really be such a bad thing?" Goku asked.

Gohan stood up and looked at his father in shock, "Of course it would be! They are cousins! It's incest, dad!"

Goku shook his head, "Actually it isn't."

"What!" Gohan asked in confusion.

Goku grinned, "Goten has been picking up on the way those two have been acting and decided to look into the matter. Turns out no where in any holy text is cousin romances forbidden. So that solves the moral issue. On the scientific side it turns out the chances of them having a baby with a birth defect are only slightly higher than a regular. Regular couples have a 2% chance of their baby having a birth defect while first cousins have a 4% chance. And since Kakarot is 3 quarters saiyan and Cheena is 3 quarters human they are almost two different species. In other words you don't have much of an argument against them being together if they choose to do so in the future."

Gohan broke his tea cup and stuck his finger at his dad, "Now you listen to me! Despite the fact that Goten dug up all this information, the fact remains that Kakarot is dangerous and will only hurt Cheena. I'll be damned if I let him hurt my daughter."

"That isn't fair, Gohan! He's your nephew and you know he would sacrifice his life for Cheena. Heck when Miira nearly killed her it was Kakarot who was willing to sacrifice his life to save Cheena. Why would he ever hurt her?" Goku questioned.

In anger Gohan answered, "Because he's a monster just waiting to happen!"

Goku stood up and looked directly into Gohan's eyes, "Do not talk about my grandson like that. He is a good kid. How could you call him that!"

"Because Bulma said…" Gohan was then interrupted by a female voice coming from the kitchen door, "Gohan!" Videl said angrily.

Gohan looked at his wife and said, "There you go again, taking Goten and dad's side over mine!"

"Look I'll admit I can see just as well as anyone else that Kakarot and Cheena could one day grow up to have romantic feelings for each other. I was worried about it too until now. I heard Goku explain the information Goten found on cousin marriages and reproduction. If what he said is true then that means there really is nothing wrong with them being together. But how can you talk about your nephew like that! You called him a monster for goodness sakes! I have never thought of little Kakarot like that, he is a good kid!"

"Whatever….if you guys want to try and screw up Cheena's future then go ahead and try but I am bound and determined to make sure she doesn't end up with that little ticking time bomb." Gohan said as he opened the front door to leave.

"Ticking time bomb? You wouldn't happen to be talking about my son, brother?" Goten said standing outside the door with a very angry expression.

"If you only knew what I knew about your son you would see things differently." Gohan explained.

Goten's eyes widened, "What could you possibly know about my son that I don't know!" Goten asked in surprise.

"All of you sit down and I'll explain. I guess it is time for you all to know the truth." Gohan requested.

After cleaning his cheek Gohan sighs and begins to explain, "When Bulma scanned Goten, Cheena, and Kakarot's brains back when we were trying to figure out how Miira…I mean Angelica was getting into our dreams, she noticed something strange in Kakarot's scan. Goten developed some mental illness due to his time in prison and some of these were passed from father to child. Meaning some mental illness are already present in Kakarot but they are dormant. Given the right trigger Kakarot could snap and when that happens…he could be a great threat to us all."

"That is insane! And how dare Bulma not inform Roza and I about what is going on in our son's brain! We're his parents for goodness sakes!" Goten argued.

"This is exactly why she told me and not you. You and Roza would be worried like crazy about Kakarot and it would only create a stressful environment at his own home that could trigger the mental issues." Gohan explained.

He cleared his throat, "Now as I was saying. Goten you recall that transformation you took when you fought Ryo and Miira? Well it turns out that is a result of our human and saiyan hybrid genes. It's a transformation that hybrids like us can temporarily perform due to the extreme anger and burst of energy a hybrid saiyan can experience. Since you and I are half saiyans we can only use it for a short period of time. However Kakarot is 3 quarters saiyan and 1 quarter human. Which means he could have the potential to stay in that form for a very long time and who knows what destruction he could cause because Bulma says that form may be equal in strength to a super saiyan 3."

Goten look horrified at the possibility of what his son could be capable of, "It's just like with Broly. A transformation built into a saiyan's DNA. In Kakarot's case it's the fact he is a hybrid but with mostly saiyan blood." Goten thought back to his fight with Broly as a kid and cringed, "My son…becoming a monster like that!"

"Now do you see why I have been so against Cheena being with Kakarot. If she hangs around him all the time then when the day comes he does snap then she might end up being the first one he hurts. He wouldn't willingly hurt her but in that form he may not be in control of what he does." Gohan explained and everyone began to understand his concern.

"Then we just have to make sure the day never comes that Kakarot does snap." Goten stated clearly.

"But how can you ensure that day never happens?" Gohan asked his younger brother.

Goten looked down, "I don't know but Roza and I will talk about this. But please Gohan don't separate Cheena and Kakarot from each other. You'll just make things worse like that."

Gohan sighed and began walking up stairs, "I'm not going to make any promises." was the last thing he said before he left the room.

Goten looked at his dad and Videl, "Sorry but I have to talk with Roza about this right now. Could you two take the kids to the park or something?" Goten requested.

They both nodded and Goku answered, "Sure. That actually sounds like fun."

As soon as Goku and Videl left with the kids, Goten sat down with Roza and explained everything to her. Needless to say Roza was deeply concerned.

"But Goten he would never do anything to hurt any innocent person. We've taught him to only beat up bad people and to only fight good people for fun. He would never hurt a good person." Roza argued.

"I know he wouldn't as long as he remains in control of himself. But if he loses that control then who knows what could happen." Goten looked down.

Roza bit her lip as she tried to work through all of this information, "Then we have to make sure that Cheena and Kakarot are always friends."

"What do you mean?" Goten asked.

Roza looked at Goten and told him, "Kakarot told me once he promised your mother when he was a baby he would be Cheena's protector and that Cheena promised she would be his light if he ever fell into a dark place in life. In other words if that is true then we have to make sure Kakarot's light is always there."

"Which means if anything ever happened to Cheena then it could trigger the transformation." Goten said.

Roza nodded, "Those two have to remain a part of each other's lives no matter what happens."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are? Should we encourage them to…you know…be a couple?" Goten asked.

She shook her head, "Look I have no problem if they want to get together but I'm not going to force Kakarot to marry anyone. He'll make the right choice….he is your son after all…"

"You give me too much credit for his good qualities. He has an amazing mother too." Goten said with a smile.

Roza sighed, "Or so you say." she responded sadly. "I'm going to take a shower." She said before she went upstairs.

Goten sat there confused, "She seemed sad. And she did even make one of her sexual jokes when she had the perfect chance to. She usually says something like 'I'm going to take a shower. You can join me if you want to' and then winks at me. Maybe she's sick? Or maybe it has something to do with that nightmare about prison I had. Mom said marriage and raising a family wouldn't always be easy. Well with a saiyan family it's never easy." He said with a light smile as he yawned and laid back to think everything over.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note:** I think my internet is starting to act normal again but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. Anyways folks look forward to the next chapter for sure because I'm planning on making it long and filled with plot development. Until then enjoy this chapter my friends.

Goten had woke up in the middle of the night. He opened his heavy eyes and looked at his clock, "3:00 am." he mumbled. He rolled over expecting to see Roza sleeping next to him but to his surprise she wasn't. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and looked at the cracked bathroom door to see the light was on.

Goten jumped out of bed and walked up to the door, "Roza, are you in there?"

"Yes…" she said nervously like she had been crying.

Goten picked up immediately on the tone of her voice, "Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

Again she answered with the same nervous tone, "Yes…just go back to bed, honey."

But Goten had no intention of that. He opened the bathroom door and saw Roza sitting in the bathtub wearing her night gown and she had her faced buried in her palms crying. Goten quickly rushed over to her and put his arms around her.

"Baby, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt? Are you sick?" He asked trying to figure out what was wrong with her since he couldn't see any visible injuries.

Roza raised her head up to speak and answered, "I'm a bad mother…a bad wife…I've done something terrible…."

Goten began to soothingly rub her back, "Don't say that, you're a good mother and wife. Roza, tell me what you did. Let me help you."

She shook her head, "I can't tell you…I can't…"

Goten took one of her hands into his, "Of course you can tell me. Whatever it is I'll help you….please Roza…let me help…"

Roza began to cry even harder but finally she forced herself to say, "I cheated on you…."

Goten's eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his heart broke in an instant, "You what! Why! When!"

Goten stood up and backed away from her, "Please tell me you're lying…."

Roza slowly stood up and looked down unable to face him, "Goten…I…had an affair around the time Kakarot was conceived…he might not be yours…" She admitted.

Goten used the sink behind him to keep his balance, "No…please no….I love that kid…." He said shaking his head. Then he realized that Kakarot was a saiyan, he had the tail as proof. "You didn't cheat…Kakarot is part saiyan. He has to be my son."

Roza looked at him completely apologetic, "Unless the man I slept with was also part saiyan."

Goten felt his throat tighten up, "Who….WHO THE HELL WAS HE!" Goten shouted.

"Ryo….when he kidnapped me…you just don't understand…he was the only guy who ever cared about me for my whole life until I met you…" She explained with tears streaming down her face.

"HE'S YOUR BROTHER!" Goten shouted.

"And Kakarot is Cheena's cousin but you don't have a problem with that!" She argued back.

Goten punched the floor, "That's different! I already explained why cousins can have a romantic relationship! But your brother! That's just sick! And you're telling me that Kakarot could be his son!"

Roza reached over to him, "Goten…I am so sorry…I…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" In his anger he hit her so hard she went flying against the wall.

Roza smirked while Goten wasn't looking and she whispered to herself, "It's working…I'm getting what I deserve…"

Goten turned around and looked down at her with anger filling every vein in his body, "You You…." Goten saw the look in her eyes and unclenched his fist, his anger coming down somewhat, "You're lying to me…" He could tell something wasn't right. The saiyan bond he made with Roza when they first made love, it told him she was deceiving him. Thinking back to that night he knew for sure she was lying, "If you had been with Ryo then you would have made a saiyan bond with him….on your neck when we made love you didn't have the bite scar that comes with making the bond…you never cheated on me…" He called her bluff.

Roza sighed. She knew she was caught telling a lie, "Damn it…" she cursed.

Goten shook his head trying to figure out what was going on, "Why did you lie to me then! Do you have any idea what it feels like to be told by your wife that a child might not be yours? Why you would make this crap up!"

She stood up and rubbed the blood off her lips, "I had to. It was the only way I could get you angry enough to hurt me."

Goten looked at her like she was crazy, "Are you insane! Why in the world would you want me to hurt you!"

"Because I deserve it!" She responded angrily.

Goten gave himself a soft face palm and sighed, "Not this again…Roza is this about the prison thing?"

Roza nodded, "When you told me what they did to you in prison, I couldn't let myself get away with it. I am the reason you were locked up in the first place so it's my fault they raped you in prison. I knew you would never hurt me unless I did something that was so horrible and so drastic that you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from hurting me. I was right….you hit me see." She pointed to the large bruise that was covering almost the entirety of her right cheek.

Goten looked at her and said, "I'm sorry….I don't want to hit you, you're my wife! I love you. But like you said you really pushed me over the line. Roza you can't just tell a guy that a kid he has raised and loved for 8 years could not be his child! That hurts!"

Roza looked down. She was ashamed of her actions and especially about the lies she told him, "I'm sorry I said what I said. I never have cheated on you and I have never slept with anyone except you. Kakarot is our little boy, he's your son. But I thought if I made up a lie then you would hurt me…punish me…"

She stepped closer to him and looked into his eyes, "Please punish me…please Goten….I need this…I need this to move on…" She begged.

Goten put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently, "Why? Why do you need me to hurt you in order for you to forgive yourself? Roza it has been 8 years….let's just move on already….I want us to be a family….please stop this, stop hating yourself. I forgive you….why can't you forgive yourself?"

She put her hand on his chest, "I will forgive myself….if you just punish me. Please….free me…punish me."

Goten closed his eyes thinking all of what she has said over in his head. He began to think maybe it was for the best if he did just punish her already then maybe this whole thing can be laid to rest. He slowly raised his fist. Roza watched his fist lifting up and she didn't even bother to close her eyes for the impending punch. She knew she was about to be freed from the guilt she's carried for years. The guilt for what she did to her husband would finally be taken away by the fist of her husband.

Goten began to go in for a punch but before his fist could make contact with her face he stopped and jumped away, "I can't do it….I can't….I won't…." He began to cry.

"Yes you can! You're half saiyan! Let your saiyan half out! You love violence deep down. So do it already. You know you want to!" She tried convincing him. "Are you a saiyan or a coward?" She insulted him trying to get him mad.

Goten couldn't take her shouting much longer, he snapped and the next thing he knew he had knocked his wife to the ground. "Oh God no…I'm sorry….I didn't mean to do that…" Goten tried apologizing.

She certainly felt the pain from that one but still she smirked, "There you go. Show me more of that violent saiyan inside of you."

Goten thought back to what Angelica told him. She tried to argue one day he would hurt his wife and his son. She had tried to tell him deep down he wanted to hurt them. Now here he was standing over his wife who he had just hit twice.

"No…I'm not going to be that kind of man…" Goten clenched his head and began crying as he fell to his knees. "I'm a good husband…a good father…I don't want to hurt my wife…I wont do this…" He looked at Roza and shouted, "I WONT DO THIS!"

Roza clenched her fist, "Yes you WILL!"

She began to fire a ki blast forcing Goten to try and knock her hand of his face, at the right moment she angled herself so he hit her face again instead.

"Roza!" He said.

"STOP DADDY!" A small frightened voice shouted from the door.

Roza and Goten both turned their attention to their 8 year old son who was standing at the door crying and shivering. "Daddy…don't hurt mommy…" The child pleaded.

"Kakarot…this isn't what it looks like…" Goten said in shock at Kakarot having just witnessed his father hit his mother.

"How can you say that! You hit my mom!" He said with anger at his father.

"Kakarot he wasn't hitting mommy to hurt me!" Roza told her son.

She wanted to be punished but she didn't want her son to think his dad was a wife beater. Neither Goten nor Kakarot deserved to have their relationship as father and son ruined like that.

"What do you mean, mom?" The confused saiyan asked.

Roza sat up and tried to come up with a reasonable lie, "Mommy was sick and having a nightmare, I was kind of sleeping walking and having a nightmare at the same time. Daddy tried to wake me up but nothing was working so he had to hit me to get me to wake up." She knew it sounded unlikely but he was a little kid so maybe he would believe it.

"Really?" Kakarot asked both of his parents.

Goten and Roza both nodded, "I'm sorry you had to see this." Goten said to his little boy.

Roza smiled, "Sweetheart, your daddy wouldn't ever willingly hurt me. He would only do it for a good reason or if someone made him do it."

Goten glared at her when she said that last part then he looked at Kakarot and smiled, "Come on little guy. I'll take you back to bed." Goten walked over and picked Kakarot up in his arms.

He stayed with Kakarot rubbing his back soothingly until the saiyan child was asleep. After that he kissed his son's cheek and returned to his bedroom where Roza was washing her face.

"Roza…why did you do this? I mean I know why you said you did this but why did you have to do it? I thought we were over all of that stuff. I thought it was Kakarot, you, and I as a happy little family living in the mountains. I thought that is what you wanted." Goten said trying to wrap his mind around Roza's way of thinking.

"It is what I want, Goten. I want all of that. But I can't enjoy it until I…" Roza was explaining but was interrupted by Goten.

"Until you're punished. I heard you already. But Roza I can't do it….I can't hurt you. You may have hurt me so much in the past but I can't hurt you now…because I love you so much. I could never hurt you…" He tried to make her understand.

Roza didn't want to but she couldn't help but start crying again, "Goten…what's wrong with me? I'm so messed up….I wanted my husband to beat me…I must be crazy." She turned around and ran into his arms, "Please Goten…help me…"

Goten wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, "I will….we'll get you help….But promise me you wont ever do what you did tonight. Not only was it crazy but the things you said really hurt me. On top of all that did you forget about Kakarot's mental issues? What if that scene he just saw had triggered his transformation?"

Roza's eyes widened as she just realized the mistake she could have made, "Oh my God….I didn't even think about that."

"We're lucky the only part of that mess he saw was the last punch I hit you with, or else that lie of yours wouldn't have worked too well. Just please promise you won't do something like this again. I'll help you through these feelings you're having but you have to promise you'll never do this again." Goten was practically begging her.

Roza nodded, "I'm so sorry….I promise…just please help me…"

"We'll talk with someone tomorrow about this. But right now just go lay down and get some rest. I'll finish cleaning the bathroom up." He gave her a kissed and sent her to the bedroom.

When he had finished cleaning up the mess their little fight had caused he looked in the mirror and gave his reflection a smile, "Dude you look terrible." For a second he thought he saw Ryo's reflection just like he had seen a few days ago in the window. The first time he shrugged it off, but now he was a little more concerned.

"I need to relax. I was upset the first time I saw his reflection and I'm upset tonight so I'm sure it's just my mind playing tricks on me. After all Ryo is in hell right now. He chose to go there himself. Even if he was here I shouldn't see his reflection. He doesn't have a body. He became a spirit after he died so…so he can't be here. I just need to go lay down and take a good long nap and everything will be fine." Goten kept telling himself until he was back in his bed and soon fast asleep.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note:** As promised, this a long chapter with plenty of story progression. Enjoy and review everyone.

The following morning after Goten and Roza's ordeal, Roza was up early cooking breakfast. Goku sat at the table with Kakarot telling his grandson all about the fight with Majin Buu.

"The spirit bomb sounds really powerful! You have to teach me it sometime!" Kakarot chirped and his tail wiggled with happiness.

Goku laughed cheerfully, "Maybe when you get a little older. Gathering the life energy of the whole planet and it's people to form a massive attack isn't exactly the easiest technique to perform. Not to mention you have to be pure of heart to perform the attack. If you're not pure then the attack would consume you instead."

Kakarot looked down sadly, "Then I'll never be able to use it. I'm always getting into trouble."

Goku laughed again, "That isn't exactly what I meant, Kakarot. I don't think the kind of mischief you and Cheena get into counts against the pure of heart thing."

Kakarot blinked curiously, "Cheena isn't really the one that starts the trouble. I start it and she just goes along with it because she thinks she has to make sure I don't get into too much trouble. Although if you ask me I think she has just as much fun as I do." Kakarot gave a sneaky grin.

"Morning everyone." Goten said as he yawned and entered the kitchen.

He looked over at Roza and she gave him a look that made it clear she didn't want what happened last night brought up in front of Kakarot right now. Goten looked at his father and saw another strange look on his face. But Goku's look pretty much said he wanted to talk to Goten later.

Goten walked over to Cheena and put his arms around her, "What's for breakfast?" He asked and kissed her cheek.

"Sausage, eggs, toast with butter and jelly, and hash browns." Roza replied happily so Kakarot wouldn't suspect anything.

"Smells delicious. I can't wait." Goten told her.

He turned to his attention to Kakarot and smiled, "So you and Cheena still want to enter the martial arts tournament, right?"

Kakarot nodded and smiled, "Yup! Cheena and I have been practicing. In fact she's coming over after breakfast and we're going to go out into the mountains for some more training."

Goten kneeled in front of his son and said, "I'm glad you're excited about this. Just remember though you're 3 quarters saiyan and Cheena is only 1 quarter saiyan. Watch you're strength because you don't want to hurt her."

Kakarot suddenly looked serious, "I'd never hurt her. I couldn't forgive myself if I did."

Goten was taken back by his son's seriousness but considering how protective Kakarot is of Cheena, he shouldn't really be surprised by now, "I know you would never intentionally hurt her. But accidents happen Kakarot, even to saiyans. All I'm saying is be careful."

Goten thought about bringing up the fact Cheena was actually born premature but he had gone 8 years without anyone ever mentioning that to either Cheena or Kakarot, so he figured there was no reason to bring up now. He trusted Kakarot to be careful, especially with Cheena.

Meanwhile in the house next door Gohan and his family were already eating breakfast. The atmosphere of this home was more tense than the one over at Goten's house.

"The Fall semester is going to be starting in a month. I guess you'll be going back to work at the university." Videl commented.

Gohan nodded, "Well of course. What else would I be doing."

"You could stay at home." Videl said.

Gohan sighed, "We talked about this. I'm the husband so it's my job to make the money to support my family."

Videl sighed as well, "I'm the daughter of Hercule. When dad died 10 years ago I inherited his fortune. Not to mention you're the grandson of the Ox King and since your dad never needs the money you inherited your grandfather's wealth. So how is money a problem for us?"

Gohan took a sip of his coffee and glared at Videl, "It's not about the money. It's about earning the money. By having a job and making my own money to support this family I can take pride in doing my duty as a father and a husband."

Videl rolled her eyes, "You're pride? You can be so stubborn sometimes. You're dad never worked and he seemed to be alright."

Gohan stood up and looked at her angrily, "Yeah and he left his pregnant wife to be taken care of by his 11 year old son. Then I had to raise my little brother. Those were the duties he was supposed to take care of, not me. So I'll be damned if I'm going to screw up like he did!" He almost shouted.

Videl stood up and pointed her finger at him, "First don't you that type of language in front of our daughter. And yes I get, your dad should have been. How many times have you told me about the resentment you felt because of that whole situation, and how many times have I tried to comfort you about it? But you're not exactly husband of the year either, you know! I mean when was the last time you kissed me? I don't even remember the last time we just stayed up all night and talked like we used to. As for being a father maybe if you would get off this over protective pedestal you've been on lately and actually listened to your daughter every once in awhile you wouldn't be so dead set against the idea of…."

Gohan smacked her like a reflex because he didn't want her bringing up the whole speculation and distaste he has for the possibility of Kakarot and Cheena ending up together when they're older. It only took a second for him to realize he crossed a line by smacking his wife.

"Videl…I'm sorry. It's just you were going to….and I had to stop you…and I didn't mean to slap you…I just wasn't thinking…" Gohan tried to apologize.

The whole time Cheena sat there not saying a word while she picked at her pancakes with her fork. Deep down though she was wishing her parents would stop fighting. They didn't even act like a husband and wife should. They were so tense around each other lately and it was starting to really bother Cheena.

"I'm going to go see Kakarot…" She said sadly.

Without another word she had slowly made her way out the door without ever lifting up her head or even saying goodbye.

Videl returned the favor Gohan had delivered and smacked him right back, "I hope you're happy. Do you see how your arrogant perfect father dogma and this irrational paranoia you have, is affecting our little girl? Do you see how it's affecting me? Do you even care?"

Gohan lowered his head and sighed, "Of course I care. I love you and Cheena and Pan. It's just….I'm pathetic…"

"Why do you say that?" She asked curiously.

"I was supposed to take dad's place as the savior of the world. I was supposed to be the one everyone thought would beat Majin Buu. Then when I have the chance to beat him I went and made the same mistake I did with Cell. I got to damn cocky. Then dad comes along and ends up being the one who beat Buu and so Goten starts to look up to him more, even though I raised him for 7 years. That little snot just shoved me aside. So my brother lost confidence in me and I ended up failing my dad's wishes. So here I am trying to be the perfect husband and the perfect father and what does it lead to? Paranoia that my 8 year old nephew is going to end up screwing around with my daughter despite the fact that it's impossible for 8 year olds to even make babies. And on top of that I'm not intimate enough with my wife. You know what, everyone would be better off if crazy Gohan was dead." Gohan poured out all of this to Videl.

"Gohan…." Videl said sympathetically, "You never told me that you felt like you failed your father and that you felt like you weren't your little brother's role model anymore after the whole Buu thing."

"Well now you know…alright I'm a failure. I'm one big stupid failure trying pathetically to be a good father and husband even though I know I'll end up screwing that up even worse later on. Just like I do everything else." And with that Gohan sat down and buried his face into his hands.

Videl sat next to him and rubbed his back soothingly, "Gohan…I'm sorry that you have felt this way. I never thought you were a failure. When I suspected you were the Great Saiyaman, even when we were in class together I thought you were really amazing. And you are still amazing to me. You've just lost your way a little bit. Just be the sweet Gohan I fell in love with. I'd love to see that Gohan I knew that was always so shy and awkward when it came to being romantic."

Gohan couldn't help but smile as the images of his teenage years with Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner came rushing back, "I was such a nerd back then."

Videl smiled at her husband, "You still are a nerd. But that's okay, I like nerdy boys. You'll always be my nerd."

"Videl…that sounded so stupid." He laughed.

Videl gave him a light punch in the ribs, "Oh shut up." she said jokingly

"I love you…I know I haven't shown it lately, but I really do love you, Videl." He said sincerely.

She rested her head on his shoulder, "I know you do. But I think you should speak with Cheena before she and Kakarot go off to train. She's been picking up on this whole situation too. She doesn't even know why you've been acting like you have lately….you know about the whole Kakarot thing. She may start to get the wrong idea that maybe you're not proud of her or something like that."

Gohan knew Videl was absolutely right. He had studied psychology enough to know that when one or both of the parents were upset that the child would usually blame his or herself.

"You're right. I'll go talk to her." Gohan stood up and give Videl a kiss.

Gohan knocked on his brother's door and Goten opened it, "Hey bro. Is something wrong?" He asked hoping Gohan wasn't going to deliver more bad news about Goten's mental situation.

"No, I was just wanting to speak with Cheena." Gohan answered.

"Sorry but she and Kakarot just took off to the mountains to train." Goten told him.

"Oh…well then I guess I'll talk to her later." Gohan said.

Goten looked at Gohan and asked, "Why was Cheena acting so sad when she came over? What has been going on with her lately? She hasn't been acting like herself. On top of that Videl has been acting different too. Talk to me, maybe I can help you."

Gohan stood against the side of the house and said, "I've messed up. I've not been the husband and father I should be."

Goten nodded, "I think I know where this is going. Gohan, even when I was a little kid you were always trying to be the perfect father figure to me. You know what I think has happened to you? I think you have been trying so hard to be the perfect whatever for so long that you have run yourself down and you're tired now. You're tired and unmotivated and just like any other tired individual it's easy to get angry at the smallest little thing."

"So what is your solution to this whole problem?" Gohan inquired.

Goten patted his brother's shoulder, "Why don't you and Videl take a nice vacation. I'm sure there is a planet somewhere out there filled with nothing but tropical beaches, clear oceans, and all the little fruit drinks with the tiny umbrellas sticking out of the cup that you could want. You got a month before you go back to work, just spend that month on vacation with her. Roza and I can watch Cheena."

Gohan glared at Goten, "You want me to leave my daughter at your house for a month with Kakarot."

Goten sighed, "Oh for goodness sakes. Gohan, they are 8 years old. They aren't going to mess around or anything. Besides they don't even think of each other like they. They see each other as cousins and best friends. I could understand your point of view better if they were teenagers but that is still a long ways off. I don't want Kakarot messing with her when they are teenagers either, not because of the cousin thing, but just because I want them to not be teen parents."

"Well I don't want them messing with each other because they are cousins." Gohan told him.

Goten shook his head, "I already explained why them being cousins doesn't make a romantic relationship wrong. So why are you still making a big deal about it?"

"Because it just seems weird. Plus imagine what the other kids would say about them. Does it not bother you at all?" Gohan asked.

Goten shook his head, "Not really. I think it's kind of cute actually."

Gohan sighed, "Whatever. But I suppose you're right that right now they are too young to even think about that kind of stuff. I guess for right now I don't have to worry about it. But when they are old enough don't expect me to just roll over and accept it if it does happen."

Gohan began to walk back to his house, "I think I'll take you up on your idea. A month long vacation with Videl actually sounds pretty nice."

Goten rolled his eyes and whispered to himself, "That guy needs to seriously relax."

Goten stepped back inside his house and saw his father and wife talking about something in the living room.

"Goten, come in here for a second." Goku asked nicely.

"Yeah dad?" Goten said as he sat down next to Roza.

"Roza told me about what happened last night…and that you had a nightmare about being in prison. She wouldn't tell me what the nightmare was about because she said it was your choice to talk about it. You want to tell me about it?" Goku asked calmly.

Goten shook his head at first, "No…" He said quickly.

Roza took his hand into hers and said gently, "Goten…it's okay. I'm your wife, he's your father. We're not going to hurt you."

Goten just sat there motionless except for his eyes that were glancing all over the place. After 5 minutes he placed his face into his hands and began to cry. No one said a word while he cried. Roza simply rested her head against his shoulders and rubbed his back. Goku sat on the other side of Goten and placed on hand on Goten's shoulder and the other hand on his leg.

Goten eventually moved his head up and with red tear filled eyes he came out and said it, "I was raped in prison." The hybrid manage to get out and then started to cry even harder.

Goku felt his heart break, "Goten…" Goku could feel his throat tighten as he pictured the sight of his son forced to the ground with many men raping him, "My little boy…I'm so sorry…" Goku pulled Goten into a hug and began to gently rock him back and forth.

"I was so weak…I hadn't been able to eat like I should…I couldn't fight back…I was so weak….I'm sorry….I'm so sorry…I should have been able to fight back but I just couldn't…." Goten cried out of hatred toward his own weakness.

Goku shook his head, "Don't blame yourself…it's not your fault….you're a good person…you were a good 15 year old boy who was blamed for something he didn't do and would never do…you were sent to a horrible place you didn't deserve to be in…you are a good person and you didn't deserve any of what happened to you."

Goten buried his face into his dad's chest and kept crying for another 20 minutes while Goku and Roza continued to comfort him. Afterwards Goten finally pulled out of their embrace and grabbed some tissues to dry his tears.

"I don't ever want Kakarot to know I was in prison or any of the stuff related to that." Goten said as he finished drying his tears.

"He doesn't have to, if you really don't want him too." Roza said as she rubbed his back.

"Roza, we need to talk about what you've been going through too." Goku told her with compassion.

Roza looked down, "What is there to talk about? I'm a messed up girl…I'm really messed up in the head." The two men couldn't see but silent tears were starting to escape her eyes and trickle down her face.

Goten put his arm around her and said comfortingly, "Tell us more. Come on baby, let it all out."

Roza looked up at them and said, "I don't deserve your comfort. I shouldn't even be here right now. You went to prison because of what I did. I shouldn't be your wife, I shouldn't have carried your beautiful child, and I don't deserve this life with you. I know what you're going to say, that you guys have seen how guilt ridden and remorseful I am and that because I admitted my crimes that you guys forgave me. But I can't forgive myself…I just can't do it…I need punishment. When a person does something wrong they are supposed to be punished."

Goku looked at her and explained, "You're absolutely right, Roza. All crimes and sins must be punished. However when someone is truly sorry, when they realize the type of person they are, and they come to repent for what they have done, then that shows they wish to be good. How then can those who are already good reject those who come seeking forgiveness? Goten loves you and I love you. While crime and punishment and anger and revenge do seem like the logical course of things, it is not the strongest. Love is illogical, beyond understanding, and as such so is forgiveness. It doesn't make any sense at all but yet it is the strongest of all things. So you'll never be able to understand how Goten can forgive you or how he can love you despite your past failures. But you don't have to understand. It's not about understanding, just accept it and embrace it. If the one you have wronged is able to forgive and love you then what right do you have to not do the same for yourself?"

Roza lowered her head again and began to cry once more, "I am so stupid. I've been so stupid…I never listen to you even though I know you wish to do me good. I continue to reject your embrace out of self hatred for myself….I don't want to feel this way anymore….I just want to be happy without the pain of my past haunting me."

"You cannot erase what has happened but you are forgiven. You don't have to be bound by what has happened." Goten tried to explain.

She cuddled up to him, "Goten don't ever leave me…I'll stop how I've been treating myself. I just need some help….please…"

Goten cradled her in his embrace, "I know baby….we'll get that help…I will get you any help you need…"

Goku stood up and left the couple to comfort each other. He stepped outside and sighed, "It's a lot easier to fight your problems with fist than with words. I really pray my children and grandchildren make it through all of the pain their hearts have been unfortunate enough to experience. I would do anything to take away their pain."

In the mountains Kakarot and Cheena had already been training for a bit when they decided to take a break. Kakarot was well aware Cheena had been depressed lately and she had already told him that her parents fighting was the reason. He watched her sitting next to him looking down at the dirt with nothing but sadness in her eyes.

"Kakarot….I don't think we should enter the tournament anymore." She told him.

"Why?" He asked worryingly.

"I'm just not up for it….I'm tired and I don't think my parents would really even care." Cheena admitted.

Kakarot took her hand into his, "Cheena, if you don't want to enter the tournament then that is fine. But isn't there any way I can make you feel better."

"Not unless you can make my parents get along. Especially my dad. He's changed and I really don't think he likes you either." She told him.

Kakarot sighed, "Yeah…I kind of picked up on that. I don't know why he doesn't like me. I never did anything to upset him I don't think."

Cheena began to softly cry, "I miss my nice daddy. He used to be so nice…but now he doesn't even kiss me goodnight sometimes."

Kakarot hugged her, "It's okay, Cheena. You always got me. I can kiss you goodnight from now on if you want." He said with a sweet smile.

Cheena couldn't help but smile back, "You're my best friend, you know that?"

"Of course I do. And you're my…" Kakarot paused as he looked at her and just focused on her face and then he said, "You're my everything…"

Cheena didn't fully understanding what he meant, "What do you mean?"

"I can't really describe the feeling myself…." He admitted.

Suddenly dark portals appeared on the ground and out of them rose small grey deformed humanoid creatures that lacked eyes but wide mouths with zipper like teeth. The two young saiyans jumped back in fear and took battle positions.

"What the heck are these things!" A shocked Kakarot asked out loud.

Cheena was disgusted by the ugly monsters, "I don't know but they look nasty."

Kakarot took a swipe at one of the creatures but it twisted it's skinny body around his arm and then tightened it's entire body around Kakarot's arm. The boy screamed in pain as the monster's grip became tighter. The saiyan screamed in pain when one of his arm muscles literally exploded because of the intense grip the monster had.

"Kakarot!" Cheena screamed as she watched him collapse to his knees in pain. She didn't notice when one of the monsters came up behind her and flipped it's legs into the air, hitting her in the back and with extreme forcing knocking to the ground.

The monsters jumped in the air and were about to land on Cheena but out of nowhere a hooded figure in a black coat jumped from the sky and began attacking the monsters with his fist which were covered in a strange energy that was not ki. The mysterious figure's strange energy destroy the creatures on contact. Cheena was about to ask who the figure was but before she could he closed her eyes and put her into a peaceful sleep and then he did the same for Kakarot. The only words Kakarot heard from the man before he fell into his sleep were, "Sleep the flesh of my kin."


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note:** I pretty much have the next part of the story all planned, so I'm pretty sure this story is going to be longer than Robbed, I'm just not sure how much longer. Enjoy everyone and review!

Two hooded men stood a top a hill watching Kakarot and Cheena sleep from afar. The two men remained silent, both seemingly deep in thought. Then one broke the silence.

"So they are Cheena and Kakarot. The twin souls. If what he said is true then those two will have to get stronger." One of the men said.

"Yes and each must become stronger in their own way. They're so young though, it's not really fair." Responded the man who had saved the kids earlier.

"Well we knew this day would come. It's our job to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Speaking of which, you did erase the memory of the attack from their minds, didn't you?" Asked the man.

The mysterious rescuer answered and then asked a question of his own, "Yes of course. By the way, is there any news on the search for the fugitives?"

The man shook his head, "Unfortunately not. We haven't been able to locate them or identify them."

"I see. I was hoping they would be captured by now. Having those fugitives running free only puts Kakarot and Cheena in even more danger. I can't help but wonder if they were behind the attack." The mystery rescuer openly.

"I thought about that and I decided it would be safer for them if they didn't enter the tournament. Kakarot and Cheena would surely win and the last thing we need is for their faces to become public. Both the fugitives and the others would become aware of them for sure. So I brought this." The man pulled out a bottle of purple liquid.

"This potion will make Cheena sick enough to where she wont be able to enter the tournament but no so much as it would cause any permanent harm. I considered giving this to Kakarot first since if he was awake he would volunteer to drink it so Cheena wouldn't have to. But with Kakarot being 3 quarters saiyan the potion wouldn't make him as sick as it would Cheena, and we can't risk the possibility that he would recover before the tournament." He explained.

The rescuer nodded, "It's a little extreme but it's far better than taking the risk of those two being found by our enemies."

The strangers opened Cheena's mouth gently and poured the potion down her throat. "Come now. The children will awaken soon and it is getting late so their parents may coming looking for them soon. We should leave before we are seen, that would only complicate things further."

With that one of the strangers disappeared through a strange portal. The man that had rescued the kids from the grey monsters, took one last glance at the kids and smiled proudly, "Love you kids." He said to them before he too left through a strange portal.

Moments later Kakarot slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What happened? I know I was training with Cheena but then everything else is a blank."

Kakarot watched Cheena sleeping next to him and shook her gently, "Cheena, wake up." He said calmly.

Cheena very slowly opened her eyes but she didn't even try to sit up or speak and soon she closed her eyes again, not to sleep but because it seemed like the strength it took to keep them open was too much.

"Are you okay?" Kakarot said worryingly. He put his hand on her forehead and jerked in surprise, "Cheena, you're burning up! I need to get you home right now."

Kakarot gently picked her up into his arms and she snuggled her head into his chest. "Don't worry, I'll get you home soon."

Kakarot took off into the sky but he didn't fly at full speed because he wanted to be gentle with her. The second Kakarot landed on the ground, his father stepped out the door and was about to go searching for the kids.

"Where have you two been? You're mother had dinner ready over an hour ago." Goten questioned. Then he saw Cheena cradled in Kakarot's arms and asked in concerned, "Kakarot, what happened to her?"

"She's sick dad! She and I must have fell asleep and when I woke up I found her next to me burning up with a tempature!" Kakarot explained.

Goten opened the door, "Get her inside and lay her on the couch. I'll grab some medicine and check her temperature."

When he took her temperature, the result was bad, "103 degrees! That is way too high. Here sweetheart, swallow these." Goten told his niece sweetly as he gently put two pills in her mouth and gave her a glass of water to drink.

"She must have picked up something from the forest that made her sick." Goten reasoned.

"I know I get sick sometimes, but I've only ever gotten sick maybe 2 or 3 times like this. Cheena gets sick like this a lot more often though, why?" Kakarot asked his father.

"It's because you're 3 quarters saiyan, so your immune system is stronger because it's design to keep you from getting sick so you can fight more. Cheena is only a quarter saiyan so her immune system is more like a human, as such she can get sick a lot more often than you can." Goten explained as he covered Cheena in a blanket.

"Goten, I called Gohan and Videl. They're on their way over here." Roza said as she entered the living room and kneeled down next to Goten while she watched her niece.

Everyone but Cheena turned around when they heard loud footsteps coming closer. There stood Gohan at the entrance to the living room and before anyone could say anything, Gohan grabbed Kakarot by his shirt and had the 8 year olds pinned to the wall.

"What did you do to her!" Gohan shouted at his nephew.

"N…Nothing…I would never hurt her…" Kakarot said fearfully.

Roza grasped Gohan's shoulder painfully, "Put my son down right now!" She said sternly.

Gohan let go of the boy letting him fall to the ground. Then Roza punched Gohan in the face knocking her brother in law to the ground. "How dare you! Don't you ever lay a hand on my son!"

Goten gently pulled Roza back, "Calm down, Roza. Let's not fight while Cheena is sick."

Goten glared at his older brother, "But she is right, don't you ever touch my son like that again!"

"What the hell is your problem? Kakarot was the one that brought her home. You know darn well he wouldn't hurt her. And I'm pretty sure Kakarot doesn't have the power to make people sick." Goten spouted.

Gohan knew he had overreacted and he should just apologize and admit he made a mistake but he just couldn't do it. Instead he stood up and silently walked over to Cheena, taking his daughter into his arms and began to walk out the door.

"Kakarot…." Cheena said weakly.

"What is it?" Kakarot asked kindly, his concern for Cheena overriding his fear of his uncle.

"I'm sorry…if I'm not better by the tournament then you can't enter…I'm really sorry…" She apologized with a soft exhausted tone in her voice.

Kakarot gave her a comforting smile, "It's okay. All I care about right now is you getting better."

Goten smiled at his son's concern but Gohan slightly winced in anger.

"I'll come by tomorrow and see how you're feeling." Kakarot told her as she and her father left.

"Are you okay?" Goten asked Kakarot.

Kakarot nodded, "I think so. Why did uncle Gohan get so mad at me?"

"Your uncle Gohan can be a bit extreme sometimes. Especially over Pan and Cheena. It's a father thing, you'll understand if you have daughters of your own one day." Goten tried to give a nice explanation, and while it was true fathers tend to be more protective of their daughters, Goten wasn't going to tell Kakarot about Gohan's awful feelings and suspicions toward him.

"Come on and eat, Kakarot. I made you beef stew with fried potatoes and sweetened boiled carrots." Roza told her son.

Kakarot's saiyan appetite showed clearly when he licked his lips at the thought of such a yummy meal, "Sounds good, mom."

Seeing Cheena sick made Kakarot feel bad inside, "I wish I could go see her right now but I think uncle Gohan needs to cool off first. I hope she feels better soon."

Goten listened as his son talked to himself. He walked passed Kakarot, placing a hand on his son's head as he did, "I'm proud of you." Goten said simply before he walked into the kitchen.

Kakarot blinked confusingly, "I think I need to talk to mom and dad soon…I'm confused about some things right now." Kakarot said as he realized he had a lot on his mind.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note:** I'd like to think of this as a transition chapter. The next chapter is what I'm really looking forward to writing. Enjoy everyone.

Cheena was laying in bed and had just finished the small breakfast her mother had made for her. She didn't feel like eating too much, so the meal was very small compared to what she would normally eat. Kakarot stepped into her room and gave her a soft smile, she responded with a weak smile of her own.

"You feeling any better?" Kakarot asked as he sat down next to her on the bed.

She nodded, "A little bit but I still feel pretty awful."

"What about your fever?" Kakarot asked.

Cheena sighed, "Mom got it down to 99 degrees, but it's still a fever."

Kakarot took her hand into his, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She shook her head, "No…just being here with me is good enough. Are you okay? My dad didn't hurt you last night, did he?"

Kakarot smiled, "Nah, he just surprised me is all. Why did he act like that though?"

Cheena looked down, "I don't know. My dad can get so angry sometimes….sometimes he scares me."

Kakarot looked at her seriously, "Has he ever hurt you?"

Cheena shook her head, "Of course not. But he and my mom have fought before."

Kakarot laid back next to her and sighed, "I get the feeling your dad doesn't like me. I don't know why. My dad said that fathers are more protective of their daughters than they would be their sons. But we've been best friends since we were babies, so why would he ever think I would ever hurt you?"

"I don't know. I just hope he doesn't hurt you." Cheena admitted her concern over what happened last night.

Kakarot gave her a reassuring smile, "No one is going to hurt me. I'll kick their butts. And no one will for sure never hurt you or I'll make them pay."

"What would you do to protect me?" Cheena asked out of curiosity.

Kakarot looked into her eyes and simply answered, "Anything and everything it takes to keep you safe."

She smiled and cuddled up next to him, burring her head into his chest. Kakarot puts his arm around her and his tail around her waist.

"You'll never go away, right?" She asked in a sleepy tone.

Kakarot nuzzled his nose into her hair, "Never ever. I'll always be here. And if we ever do get separated I promise I will do what ever it takes to get back to you. I promised I would always protect you, and I will keep that promise no matter what I have to do."

Suddenly Cheena jerked up out of bed and ran to the bed. Kakarot heard her throwing up and then the toilet flushing. I moment later she stepped out of the bathroom looking more ill than before, "I'm sorry…" Then she started to fall but Kakarot moved quickly to catch her.

He held her in his arms and whispered to her, "Don't apologize. You're not feeling well, it's okay Cheena. Let's just get you back in bed."

He gently carried her and laid her back down in the bed, wrapping her in a blanket. He watched her as she fell asleep and once she was deep into sleep, Kakarot went downstairs and glared at his uncle sitting on the couch in the living room reading a newspaper.

"Uncle Gohan…" Kakarot spoke nervously, "W…Why are you mad at me?"

Gohan sighed and folded his paper, "Kakarot, I admit I overreacted last night. But you will understand one day when you have a daughter."

"It's not just last night. I know you got something against me. I just don't understand why? I've never done anything to you or Cheena." Kakarot said.

Gohan stood up, "I'm not going to talk about this right now."

"Yes you are! I have a right to know what your problem is with me!" Kakarot raised his voice in frustration.

"That right there is my problem! You're dangerous! You shouldn't even be here right now, you should be locked away somewhere so you can't hurt anyone! Someone should keep you far away from everyone else for the rest of your life you little monster!" Gohan shouted and quickly regretted what he just said. He hope he didn't trigger Kakarot's transformation.

To his surprise Kakarot didn't respond in anger. Instead the 8 year old backed away, tears starting to form in his eyes. "How…how could you say that? I'm not a monster…I'd never hurt anyone….and I don't want to be locked away and all alone….why do you hate me?"

Kakarot started to run out the door but instead he found himself caught up in his aunt Videl's arms.

"Do you hate me too, aunt Videl?" Kakarot asked with a saddened tone.

Videl hugged her little nephew close and rubbed his back, "No of course I don't hate you. I think you're a very sweet and brave boy. And thankfully you turned out to be more like your father than your uncle." Videl glared at Gohan with that last sentence.

Videl began to rock the little boy from side to side as she held him, "You're not a monster. You're a little saiyan warrior and one day you're going to grow up to be a great hero just like your dad and grandpa."

Gohan noticed she didn't mention him and gripped his fist, "Well gee Videl, if you think my brother is so perfect then why didn't you just marry him instead?"

Videl put Kakarot down and told him to go upstairs and watch over Cheena. The little saiyan did as his aunt said. As soon as Kakarot was gone Videl turned around and answered Gohan's question, "Sometimes I wish I would have married him instead of you."

Gohan's eyes widened, "You don't mean that."

"Well at least he pays attention to his wife and actually tries to bond with his kid instead of just watching them like a hawk 24/7. At least he spends time with his wife and kid, instead of spending his whole life stuck in a college classroom." Videl was unaware she was starting to shout.

"He's a non educated, jobless man with the stigma of a long prison sentence on him!" Gohan quickly realized he crossed a line.

Videl slapped him across the face and shouted, "How DARE You! You know damn well Goten is completely innocent of what he was put in prison for. You have no right to use that against him!"

Gohan was shaking with anger at this point, "Then go be with Goten then!"

Videl wanted to scream out frustration, "Gohan, I don't want to be with your brother, I want to be with you. But you've have gone crazy lately! I just don't know what to do anymore."

Videl grabbed some clothes and glared at Gohan, "I'm moving into your mom and dad's old house and I'm taking Cheena with me."

That was the last straw for Gohan, "You're not going anywhere, damn it!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him with great strength, "You're my wife and you're staying right here!"

Videl let out a moan of pain, "Stop it….you're hurting me! Gohan, stop!" She felt a sharp pain run up her arm and scream loudly, "STOP!"

Kakarot heard her scream and ran downstairs, "Let her go!" He shouted at his uncle.

"Go back home!" Gohan ordered his nephew.

The 8 year old took his fighting stance and then charged at Gohan, "I said STOP!"

Gohan let go of Videl and with great strength he punched Kakarot in the stomach, a large amount of blood came flying out of the child's mouth. He landed on his knees on the floor and kneeled over in pain.

Videl gasped, "Gohan, how could you! He's your nephew!"

"Daddy…." Said a small female voice.

Gohan looked to see Cheena standing at the entrance to the living room, she looked pale and exhausted like she was about to drop.

"Daddy…you hurt him…how could you?" She slowly made her way to him and kneeled next to him, "Kakarot…are you going to be okay?"

Kakarot shook his head, "My stomach…I…I…" And then he threw up another mass of blood.

Gohan realized he could have caused Kakarot to transform but now he was injured so he probably didn't have the strength to undergo such a transformation. "Cheena, stay away from him. He's very dangerous."

"He's dangerous! You're the one who attacked him! You attacked me! You're more dangerous than he is!" Videl shouted.

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing and what I'm doing is right!" Gohan argued.

"How about you shut up!" Said Goten as he entered the living with a pissed off look.

Goten grabbed his older brother and pinned him against the wall, "You need help! You're sick!" This next part Goten said in a whisper so the kids wouldn't hear, "Kakarot may have mental illnesses but his dormant. But did you ever think maybe you got a few mental illnesses of your own that are active right now? I think you're paranoid and I think you have some anger issues and you need help. We can get you help. I need help, Roza needs help, you need help. Listen Gohan, I can't let Videl or Cheena stay around you with you lashing out like this."

Gohan quickly went mystic, grabbed Goten by his head and busted his face against the brick fireplace, "YOU are NOT taking MY FAMILY AWAY from ME!" Gohan shouted.

"Daddy!" Kakarot's eyes widened as he saw the bloodied busted face of his father.

Goku appeared via instant transmission behind Gohan and knocked his oldest son out. The hero looked at his oldest son and then at the frightened expressions on the rest of his family and said, "This all has gone on long enough. I will not let my family fall apart like this."


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note:** I'm doing a small time skip here, but I think you guys will like where this story is heading. Review as always.

It had been nearly a month since the incident at Gohan's house. The whole family was going through counseling. However most of the Son family had been hesitant in expressing their true feelings. Today that was going to change however. The kids were kept outside in the waiting room where they were playing with legos. The adults were together in the room with the therapist. Mrs. Cider the therapist, had been picking up on hints and signals of what was going on in the hearts and minds of each family member over the past few weeks. Now she believed she had an idea of how to help the family.

"Goten…Gohan, I want to speak to you two alone." Mrs. Cider asked.

Goku, Videl, Roza, and Pan complied with the request and stepped out of the room to leave the two hybrid brothers alone.

She put her papers aside and relaxed in her chair, "I've noticed a lot of tension between you two over the past few weeks. So let's not keep all those feelings bound up. Go ahead and just let how you feel about each other out, be honest with each other. Let me start this off with a question. Do you think the other is a good father?"

Goten sighed, "I think Gohan is a great father. I just think he's going to an extreme in the protective duties of a father and not putting nearly enough passion into the relationship between him and his daughters. Especially his youngest daughter."

Gohan pointed at Goten, "Or maybe I'm just doing my job right like a responsible adult and your still a kid at heart trying to raise a kid. You see Kakarot as a friend instead of son."

"And you wont even try to get to know your daughter's heart. I'm not saying you should be a child like she is, but you need to listen to what she has to say and try to understand her, instead of just brushing her feelings aside simply because she's a child. She's a very smart girl, she gets it from you. She's not stupid." Goten argued back.

"Oh and like you know how Cheena feels?" Gohan retorted.

"Better than you do!" Goten replied back.

Gohan snapped, "YOU are NOT taking MY daughter away from me!"

Goten was taken back by this accusation, "I'm not trying to take your daughter away from you."

Mrs. Cider looked at Gohan, "Now we're getting somewhere. Why do you think Goten is trying to take your daughter?"

Gohan sighed deeply, "Cheena is always wanting to go over to his house and hang out there. She'll spend nights over at his house. She wants to go with him and Kakarot out to eat or to the mall or to the park or whatever. She's my daughter…she's supposed to hang out with me."

Goten looked down, "Gohan, I never intended for you to think I was trying to be Cheena's father. Cheena likes to be at my house because of Kakarot. She likes being around Kakarot. They're best friends, they have been since they were babies. It has nothing to do with me."

Gohan nodded, "And see that brings me to another problem. She's too close to Kakarot, closer than cousins should be."

Goten rolled his eyes, "I already explained how cousin romances aren't really incest. Do I have to explain it again?"

Gohan looked at Mrs. Cider, "See what I mean? This is what he does. He takes this issues so lightly. Look he was locked up in prison for 15 years, didn't finish school or go to college because of it, and even though he was shown to be innocent of the crime he was accused of, the fact remains Goten's academic skills have suffered as a result."

Goten glared at Gohan, "Did you just call me stupid!" Goten stood up and pointed down at his brother, "I may not have finished high school, I didn't get the chance to go to college either, and I'll be the first to admit that between you and I you are the smartest. But I am not stupid. I am a good husband and a good father, and I'm a hell of a lot better at than you are."

Gohan stood up and looked into his brother's eyes, "You want to know the truth? Here's the truth, Goten. You were never wanted. You shouldn't even be here."

Goten laughed slightly, "Wow, that is what this has come to. That sounds like something a 5 year would say."

Gohan smirked, "You think I'm just desperate to find a good argument? No, I'm being truthful."

Goten looked worried, "What are you talking about?"

Gohan began to explain, "Dad had died in the Cell Games, mom was pregnant and depressed. Really depressed, and despite the fact that I could sense you inside of mom, I could sense you were a living being with a soul, mom tried to get rid of you night. She drank and drank and drank. But I stopped her, I loved you, I ensured you survived. Then you were born and mom didn't even bother to take care of you. I took care of you. She even said your appearance caused her too much pain and that you shouldn't be alive to torment her. Of course mom came out of her depression and realized the huge mistakes she had made toward you. That is why from that time forward mom always felt guilty whenever something bad happened to you. That is why when you got locked up, she couldn't forgive herself for it. She never told you and I promised her I wouldn't, but I think this needs to come out." Then Gohan looked at Goten coldly and said, "I'm starting to think that I should have let mom get rid of you."

Goten felt like a thousand knives just went through his chest. Tears were silently making their way down his pale cheeks. "I…Mom didn't want me?" Goten lowered his head and began sobbing, "I was wanted…"

Mrs. Cider sat in her chair horrified by the story Gohan just told and spoke up to try and comfort Goten, "Goten, how do you feel?"

Goten slowly shook his head, "I…I need to get out of here….I just want to get my wife and son and go home."

Goten walked passed Gohan and into the hallway. The adults of the family turned around and all them looked concerned as they watched the crying Goten approach.

"Roza…let's go home." Goten told his wife

"Are you okay? What happened in there?" Goku asked his son out of concern.

Goten ignored him and just left with Roza. In the waiting him he interrupted Kakarot and Cheena's lego building session and picked Kakarot up, "We're leaving, son."

As he began to walk away with Kakarot in his arms. Kakarot looked over his dad's shoulder and waved goodbye to Cheena, "I'll see you at home…" He said sadly, worried about his dad.

Cheena waved goodbye as well, "See you later, Kakarot." She said in an equally sad tone. "I have a bad feeling about this." Cheena whispered to herself.

Back in the hallway Gohan came out of the room and Goku immediately asked, "What happened in there? Why was Goten so upset."

"Because I told him mom didn't want him." Gohan said without hesitation.

Everyone gasped, "You did what!" Goku asked out of shock.

Gohan looked at them all and quickly responded, "Well it's true. When mom was pregnant she tried to kill Goten by drinking too much alcohol. If I hadn't stopped her, he would be dead right now."

"Your mom? No, she would never do something like that to her unborn child. That is just sick." Videl tried to argue in disbelief that Chi-Chi could have ever attempted to kill her own child.

Gohan looked down, "She was upset about dad dying in the Cell Games and she was depressed."

"That still doesn't give her a right to try and kill her own defenseless son while he's in her womb! She had no right to punish Goten for Goku's death!" Videl argued.

Goku looked down, "Goten…I'm so sorry. Chi-Chi never told me anything about this…."

As soon as Goten and his family got back home, he sent Kakarot upstairs and told him to not come downstairs until he said so. He then took Roza into the living room and explained what happened. Roza immediately took him into her embrace and he began to cry harder.

"Goten, don't you ever think you're a mistake….you have every right to exist and live as anyone else. You're my Goten….I'm so sorry she did that to you….I'm just so sorry, I don't even know what to say…How you must feel, I can't even imagine." Roza told him.

Goten pulled out of her embrace and gripped his head tightly, "DAMN IT! I feel like I'm not even a person….I want to fucking die!"

Roza shook her head and pulled his arms down, "No you don't! Listen to me, no matter what happened in the past you are my husband and Kakarot's father and we will always need you. You are a person and you have a purpose and people who love you! Don't you ever think you aren't a person or that you should die! Do you understand me! Because if you don't then I swear to God I'll kick your ass until you do, got it!" She shouted in a plea for his life.

Goten pulled her into a passionate kiss, "Roza….look at us, both of us had crap in our lives that sucked, I mean really sucked. I don't care what Gohan or the world or anyone else thinks of me….just promise me that if all else fails, you, Kakarot, and I will always be a family, we'll always have our own little world right here."

Roza nodded, "I promise…" She took him into another embrace, "I promise…"

Kakarot couldn't hear any of the conversation his parents were having, but their crying came clearly to him through his room.

"I guess this ruins my plan to talk to mom and dad about the things on my mind. They already have so much to deal with, they have their own problems. Big deal, I can handle these issues on my own." Kakarot said with a triumphant smile. Then the little saiyan looked worried, "Oh crap, I have school in a couple of days. Great…" Kakarot cringed.

Indeed 2 days later Kakarot and Cheena were dropped off at school by Goten, Roza, and Videl. After wishing the kids good luck and sending them into school, Goten turned to Videl and asked, "Why didn't Gohan show up?"

Videl looked at Goten, "You know why. It's because of what he said to you the other day. Goten, I'm so sorry."

Goten sighed, "It's fine…I'll get over it, I always do. Besides I got Roza and Kakarot, as along as I've got them I'll be okay…somehow…"

Videl sighed, "You're lucky then…" Videl began to sob silently, "I want my old Gohan back….I want him back…"

Goten and Roza smiled comfortingly at Videl, "Look Videl, the kids want us to pick them up from school anyways, so how we all three spend the day in town just having a day to relax? You deserve it Videl."

Videl smiled and dried her eyes, "That actually sounds nice. Okay."

Kakarot and Cheena stood outside the classroom door and both gulped nervously, "You ready for this?" Kakarot asked. Cheena nodded slowly, "Might as well be. Let's do this I guess."

Kakarot opened the door and he froze in place at the sight of a room full of kids. Kakarot suddenly realized something he never really thought about before, he found out that he's actually very shy in front of strange kids.


	33. Chapter 33

Kakarot and Cheena stepped into the classroom and immediately the male child was overcome with shyness. Cheena picked up on this quickly and gave him a smile, trying to ensure him not to worry and that she was right here with him.

The beautiful young blonde hair female teacher smiled warmly at the cousins, "Hello! My name is Mrs. Lavender! And you two would be?"

"Son Cheena." Cheena answered the sweet young lady.

Kakarot gulped, "8 years old." He said nervously.

Mrs. Lavender thought it was cute and giggled. The rest of the kids in the class however were laughing mockingly at Kakarot. The little saiyan lowered his head.

Mrs. Lavender looked at the kids and told them, "Hush now! There is no reason to make fun of someone just because they are nervous."

Kakarot looked at his teacher, "My name is Son Kakarot." He said with a sigh.

The teacher looked curious, "You have the same last names. Are you brother and sister?"

Cheena shook her head, "No. We're cousins actually. This is the first time we have attended a public school."

"Oh I see. Well you two may take a seat. I was letting the class get to know each other and then I was going to go over our syllabus in about 10 minutes." She explained.

Kakarot and Cheena sat next to each other in the back. Immediately after sitting down Kakarot lowered his head sadly.

Cheena rubbed his shoulder, "Hey Kakarot, don't be so hard on yourself." She whispered.

Kakarot nodded, "Thanks." He whispered back.

"Cheena…my tail is bothering me." Kakarot whispered.

The two saiyan hybrids had been forced by their parents to keep their tails in their pants so the other kids and the teachers wouldn't see them and find out they are actually part alien.

"I know, I don't like this either but we can't just go waving our tails around in public." Cheena whispered.

Suddenly a preppy looking blonde hair girl interrupted their conversation, "So where are you two from?" She asked annoyingly.

"Mt. Paozu." Answered Cheena.

The blonde giggled, "Mt. Paozu, huh? No way, you're lying! Mt. Paouz is too far from here."

"Well it's true." Kakarot argued.

The blonde glared at Kakarot, "And what kind of name is 'Kakarot'?" She mocked.

"I was named after my grandpa!" Kakarot said proudly.

"Let me guess, the only people who live around you is your family right?" One brown haired boy with glasses asked.

Cheena nodded, "Well mostly yeah. There are a few villages but our home is a good ways away from them."

The boy sneered, "I thought so. Kakarot did sound like an inbred name."

Kakarot jumped out of his seat and took his fighting stance, "What did you just say!? No one insults my family!"

Mrs. Lavender slammed her hand on her desk, "Kakarot! Go stand in the hall, young man. That is no way to act on your first day at school or any other day."

Kakarot lowered his guard and argued, "But he…"

"I heard what he said. But fighting is not the way to solve a dispute." Mrs. Lavender interrupted him.

To a saiyan like Kakarot the idea that fighting does not solve disputes just sounded plain weird. He sighed and apologized to Cheena but not to the annoying brown haired kid or Mrs. Lavender. He went outside and sat on the floor gripping his fist in anger.

"I hate this. School is so stupid. These kids are all stupid. I want to go home." He told himself.

Back inside the classroom Mrs. Lavender turned her attention the boy who insulted Kakarot, "Billy, you should never insult anyone's family. And even worse, you insulted a new student. I'm giving you detention young man, but first you will apologize to Kakarot when he comes back in. Do you understand?"

Billy nodded and sighed, "Yes ma'am." He said as he took his seat.

He looked over at Cheena who was giving him an angry glare and return her glare with one of his own. After a moment Cheena turned her head back to facing the teachers desk but notice out of the corner of her eyes a handsome boy with black spiky hair that resembled her father's hairstyle but shorter and with green highlights on the side. He had on a green t-shirt with white long sleeves extending out of the short sleeves of the t-shirt. He also worse black pants with green stripes going down the sides, and black sneakers with yellow strings.

The boy was sitting in the row next to her a couple of seats up. He returned her focused look with a smile. She blushed and turned her gaze away from him out of shyness.

Mrs. Lavender called Kakarot back into the room and glared at Billy. The boy took the hint and looked at Kakarot, "I'm sorry." He said but obviously wasn't sincere.

Kakarot just glared at him and didn't say anything back. He took his seat next to Cheena and notice the odd look on her face, "Are you okay? Did anyone say anything bad to you while I was out there?"

She shook her head, "No, it's not that. It's not important." Cheena said with a smile to hide her embarrassment.

Kakarot looked puzzled, he had never seen her act this way. "Um okay." He really didn't know how to respond.

Mrs. Lavender began going over the rules and the syllabus. Neither Cheena nor Kakarot were paying attention to the teacher, but for different reasons. Kakarot was still mad that he had to be at school at all. It was boring, the kids were mean, and he wasn't allowed to fight people when they were mean. Not to mention keeping his tail in his pants was making him itchy.

Cheena on the other hand was thinking about the boy dressed in green. The only other boy she ever thought about this much was Kakarot, but then again Kakarot was the only boy her age she had known up until now.

After Mrs. Lavender was finished going over the syllabus she asked the kids to pull out their English and Spelling book. They were going to start the year off by learning about nouns and pronouns. Having inherited Gohan's natural intellectual ability, Cheena was learning this all rather quickly. Kakarot on the other hand found this to be incredibly boring.

"There all just words. Someone must have had way too much time on their hands if they spent it trying to classify different words." He whispered to himself while staring blankly into his English book.

After English was finished the class began working on math. This was a subject Cheena naturally excelled in just as her father did. Of course for Kakarot this was going to be his worst subject just as it was for his father. Needless to say the son of Goten was grateful when lunchtime came.

Fried Chicken, macaroni and cheese, peas, corn, and of course milk were some of the things on the menu for today's lunch. Kakarot and Cheena found themselves sitting at a table alone.

"This day has been so stupid. I don't know why our parents decided to send us to school. We're part saiyans after all. Fighting is what we're really good at." Kakarot complained.

Cheena had a smile on her face and was humming a little tune, "Oh come on, besides those kids in our class, I think this has been a pretty good day."

"Cheena we're sitting all alone here. I don't think we're exactly popular right now." Kakarot argued.

"Just give it time. It's our first day after all." Cheena told him.

Kakarot noticed her oddly happy attitude and asked, "Are you okay? You've been acting weird."

Then he looked over to where Cheena was looking and saw that black and green haired boy from their class, "Do you know that guy or something?"

"Of course I don't. But I think he's a nice guy. He didn't seem like those other kids." She explained.

Kakarot noticed he was talking to Billy, "If he was such a nice guy then why is he talking to the creep that insulted our family?"

Almost as soon as Kakarot finished his sentence, the mystery boy left Billy's table with Billy looking down in fear. The boy walked over to Cheena and Kakarot's table and looked at the cousins.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about Billy picking on you guys again. I set him straight. By the way my name is Kyle. It's nice to meet you." He told them with a smile.

Cheena pulled a chair out for him, "Nice to meet you. Would you like to sit down and have lunch with us, Kyle?"

Kakarot could feel his shyness coming on again and began eating his food faster because of his nerves. Kakarot couldn't find anything bad about Kyle, but still something didn't feel right. Or maybe he was just being overprotective of Cheena or something. Whatever the case he decided he might as well try to be nice to this guy.

Kyle took his seat and smiled, "Thanks. So you guys are from Mt. Paozu. I hear it's really beautiful there. Supposedly that's where the Ox King lives. Have you guys ever seen him?"

Cheena shook her head, "No. He died before we were ever born. He was our great grandpa."

Kyle blinked a few times out of surprise, "Wow! So that means your grandmother must be the Ox Princess Chi-Chi, right?"

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah, but she died 3 years ago." Kakarot said sadly.

"Oh I'm sorry." Kyle frowned in sympathy.

Cheena nodded, "But that doesn't mean we'll never see her again. One day when we pass away we'll meet her again in Other World."

Kakarot looked at Cheena, "Cheena, he isn't going to know what Other World is."

Kyle smiled, "Actually, I've heard legends about it. Supposedly it's the land of the dead. My parents are kind of into studying ancient legends. They're archeologist and rumor has it there used to be an old cave in a mountain somewhere that was a portal or something to Other World. So you guys think it's real?"

Cheena and Kakarot looked at each other and decided to pretend like they only believed in Other World instead of revealing they knew it existed as fact, "Well we think it does." Cheena said with a smile.

"I hope you're right." Kyle smiled and took a bite of his peas.

While the kids were having lunch at school, Goten, Roza, and Videl were also enjoying lunch at a Ruby Tuesday in town. They were each enjoying a salad and Goten and Roza were happy to see Videl had been enjoying herself today.

"So we've been shopping and we're having lunch. Is there anything else you would like to do today?" Goten asked Videl.

Videl took a sip of her iced tea and answered, "Well if you guys don't mind I would like to see a movie."

Roza smiled, "That sounds like fun! What did you want to see?"

Videl smiled, "The new Batman movie of course. I know I probably sound like a kid but movies like that are just so exciting I think."

Goten gave her the Son family grin, "Videl, we're all kids at heart! I think it sounds like fun too!"

So after finishing their lunch the trio headed to the movie theater. Back at school things proceeded as they had before lunch but with the subjects this time being science and history. Finally the last hour of school had come which meant it was time for recess and Kakarot couldn't be any happier.

Kakarot and Cheena went off to a distant corner of the playground behind a tree where they could do some light training. "Now this is what I call schooling!" Kakarot said, happy to be training instead of studying.

Cheena smirked, "Oh by that you mean I'm going to school you?"

Kakarot chuckle, "Yeah right. I've got all this energy I've kept pent up all day. Sorry cousin but you're going down."

"Hey that looks like fun! Can I join." Said Kyle approaching the hybrids.

Kakarot crossed his arms, "You know martial arts?"

Kyle nodded, "Yep, been doing it all my life. You could say I was born with the talent."

Kakarot knew this was his chance to show Cheena this guy wasn't so great. With Kyle being human and Kakarot being 3 quarters saiyan, he knew this fight was in the bag. Sure he could play fair and use just a fraction of his power but why do that when you're trying to show someone up.

"Well then how about you and I, one on one!" Kakarot took his stance.

Kyle smiled and also took a very sophisticated fighting stance, "Sounds like fun!"

"HELP ME!" Kakarot, Kyle, and Cheena all heard a boy's voice screaming.

The two boys instantly dropped their fight and took off with Cheena toward the source of the voice. They found the other kids on the playground surrounding a fight between a tough looking boy with brown hair that came down to his ears on the side and his bangs came down to his eyebrows, and another smaller boy with solid purple hair that came down slightly below the ears on the side and his bangs slightly below his eyebrows. The smaller purple haired boy was also wearing a purple t-shirt with white long sleeves underneath, blue jeans, and white and purple sneakers.

"Come on loser, get up and fight back already." The tougher looking boy mocked.

Kakarot and Kyle jumped in between the two boys and glared at the bully, "Back off! If you don't you'll have to deal with us!" Kakarot warned him.

The bully smirked proudly, "You're the new kid with the weird name, aren't you? What was that name again? Kakarot? I'd hate to send you to the nurses office on your first day Kakarot…oh no wait, I would love to send you there actually."

The bully turned his attention toward Kyle, "Well if it isn't Mr. Mean and Green himself. So the loner finally went and made a friend. Everyone thinks you're so cool because of that mystery guy personality you act with, but I don't think you're as tough as everyone thinks."

Kyle smirked, "I suppose you think I'm just compensating for a scared little child under my hard exterior? Want to put that little theory to the test."

There were a lot of big words in Kyle's statement so Kakarot had to ask, "Um Kyle, what did all that mean?"

Kyle sighed, "I'm saying this loser here thinks my calm and cool personality is just a cover up because I'm really afraid. Unfortunately for him he's wrong."

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" The Bully shouted and went to hit Kyle.

"STOP!" Shouted the teachers who were watching.

Kyle and Kakarot turned to look at the teachers and Kyle said, "You don't understand, Kakarot and I were just…"

But Mrs. Lavender interrupted, "I saw what happened." Mrs. Lavender pointed toward the bully, "Mace here was picking on Phillip and you two came to his defense. Since it was Mace who went to punch first then it will be only Mace who gets in trouble."

Mace looked mad, "What!?"

"We're going to call your parents and tell them about this. You know bullying is never tolerated, especially when it becomes violent. Now report to the principle." Mrs. Lavender ordered Mace.

Then she turned her attention back to Kakarot, "By the way Kakarot, your parents and Cheena's mom are here to pick you two up."

Kakarot nodded, "Oh okay. I just have to do something first."

Kakarot put out his hand to help Phillip off the ground. Once the purple haired boy was able to stand Kakarot asked, "Are you okay?"

Phillip nodded, "Yes, thank you. Of course after as many times as I get bullied I'm used to it by now."

Kakarot smiled, "Well don't worry about it. If anyone tries to mess with you at school my cousin Cheena and I will have your back. After all we're friends now."

Phillip smiled, "Really!?"

Cheena nodded, "That's right! And I'm sure Kyle will be happy to help too, right?"

Kyle smiled and answered, "Of course. I guess we're all friends now."

"Great! Well I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow!" Kakarot said as he and Cheena took off toward the front office to meet up with their parents.

Kakarot and Cheena immediately jumped into their mothers arms and hugged them. "Did you have a good day at school, kiddo?" Roza asked Kakarot as she rubbed his spiky black hair.

Kakarot nodded, "Well it started out rough but Cheena and I made a couple of friends already."

"Really? Well I'm proud of you. You'll have to introduce us to these friends." Roza said glad that his first day went okay.

Cheena looked at her mother and asked, "Mom, where is daddy at?"

Videl looked sad, "He couldn't show up to pick you up from school, sweetheart."

Cheena looked down, "Oh…okay."

Kakarot felt bad for Cheena, "Hey Cheena…let's go to McDonalds! We can play in the play castle and stuff!"

Cheena turned to Kakarot and faked a smile, "No that's okay. I think I'd just like to go home. I'm tired."

Kakarot also faked a smile, "Oh okay. Well then I can come over to your house and we can play a videogame or something."

Cheena shook her head, "Actually I think I'll take a nap when I get home."

"Oh okay then." Kakarot decided it was useless to try and come up with a way he could cheer her up right now. So he would wait for her to come to him.

When the family got back home Kakarot went to his room and thought about the day's events and especially about how Cheena was doing. In the house next door Videl watched from the crack in the door, Cheena crying softly on the bed.

Videl turned away from the door and whispered to herself, "That's it. My baby is hurt and I'm not letting Gohan do this to her. That man is going to sit down and listen to me."

Goten was washing the dishes from this morning's breakfast when Roza came into the kitchen and asked, "Goten, are you okay? You seemed happier today than you have been since Gohan said what he did. You know you don't have to hide your feelings from me right?"

Goten put the plate he was cleaning down and looked at Roza, "Videl was the one who needed comforting today. I wasn't going to let my pain mess up today. Not to mention it was Kakarot and Cheena's first day at school and I wanted them to go to school with worrying about me. So I faked some of the happiness. Though I was happy to see Videl having fun today and it was so nice to see my little boy on his first day at school." Goten smiled sincerely.

Roza put her arms around his waist, "I know you've been looking forward to this day for a long time. We don't have to talk about what Gohan said today. When you want to talk about it though you know I'm right here ready to listen."

Goten put one his hands over hers, "I know baby…I know."


	34. Chapter 34

Cheena had cried herself to sleep after she got home from school. She really wanted her daddy to be there on her first day. Around 8:00 pm Cheena woke up and her voices downstairs. She recognized the familiar sounds of arguing as her mom and dad.

"They're arguing again?" Cheena sighed. "I should have just stayed at Kakarot's house." Cheena sat up and yawned, "I'm hungry. I'll just sneak by mom and dad and grab something from the kitchen."

Cheena headed downstairs but kept herself hidden behind the staircase and listened to her parents argument.

"Would you get off my case, Videl!" Gohan asked exhausted.

Videl shook her head and angrily responded, "No I wont get off your case! I have put up with a lot of your crap lately but this time you've crossed the line! You can hurt me and I'll still love you. But when you hurt one of my babies that is going too far!"

"When have I ever hurt either of our daughters!?" Gohan asked.

"Today you hurt Cheena!" Videl told him. "She's upstairs asleep right now because she was crying herself asleep because you didn't show up for her first day of school!"

Gohan rolled his eyes, "Videl, it's just her first day of school. Honestly she'll have more important days in her life."

Videl wanted to scream at him she was so frustrated, "You are missing the point! Today was important to Cheena, and you being there is important to her. That is all that should matter to you!"

"Look I'm tired and I'll make it up to Cheena somehow okay. I'll talk to her when she wakes up." Gohan said trying to get away from Videl.

Videl bit her lip and then glared at Gohan, "Don't bother trying to make excuses to her. She doesn't need your lame ass excuses. She's a little girl. Her father is supposed to make her feel safe and like a princess. Thank God Kakarot is there to do that for her."

Gohan got so angry he knocked a lamp off the living room table, "Kakarot is dangerous! Mark my words, one day that boy will change. You all think he's some cute and sweet kid who would do anything for Cheena and maybe that's true for now. But one day he'll snap. I keep telling you guys that he's going to become more unstable as he gets older. He'll hurt Cheena one day. He'll hurt all of us. He needs to be locked away where he can't hurt anyone. We need to stop this problem before it happens."

Videl just couldn't understand her husband and how he could say such a cruel thing about his own nephew, "Gohan, he's not done anything wrong. Think about what you're saying. Just imagine him locked away somewhere all alone for the rest of his life. He would feel like no one loves him and like his own family abandoned him. How could you ever even think about putting your nephew through that!?" She was starting to form tears in her eyes at the thought of Kakarot being treated like that.

Gohan shook his head and coldly stated, "One child's happiness is not as important as the safety of the world. If stopping Kakarot from becoming the monster he is capable of becoming means that he would have to spend his whole life locked away completely alone then so be it. I would do it without a second thought because my duty is to protect my daughter and this planet."

Cheena stepped out from hiding and shouted, "SHUT UP!"

"Cheena!?" Videl said in surprise.

Cheena was crying and shaking with anger, "You think you're protecting me? If you're idea of protection is hurting my best friend like that then I don't want your protection! Why can't you be like you used to be daddy? You used to spend time with me. You used to not hate Kakarot. I miss how you used to be. You were so sweet and I felt so safe around you, daddy. Now I can't stand to even be around you anymore! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Cheena ran upstairs crying really hard.

Gohan stood there stunned at how his daughter just spoke to him, "All I'm trying to do is keep her safe….I don't wont to fail her like I did Pan."

Videl looked really confused, "What are you talking about?"

Gohan sat down on the couch and sighed, "Pan was raped. Ryo raped my little girl. The look in Pan's eyes after that, it changed me. Then I go and beat up Goten and accuse him of being the one that raped her, when I should have known he wouldn't do that. I screwed up big time. When Cheena was born premature and I held her for the first time, she was so tiny and fragile and I swore I wouldn't ever make the same mistake. When Bulma told me that Kakarot inherited mental illnesses from Goten and that if given the right trigger the dormant illnesses could be activated and cause him to transform into something even worse than Broly, I just couldn't keep myself from viewing Kakarot as a threat to Cheena. I don't want to wake up one day and find that Kakarot has gone off the deep end and hurt Cheena."

Videl sat next to Gohan and asked him softly, "Why didn't you ever tell me that this was the reason for this change in you?"

Gohan looked at her, "Because I nearly beat you to death when you defended Goten and I was convinced he had raped Pan. I wanted to push you away from me so you would leave me and I wouldn't hurt her. I knew you wouldn't like how I felt toward Kakarot so I wanted to push you away so I wouldn't snap and attack you again."

Videl shook her head and tried to process all this, "Gohan, you're problem is that you are trying too hard to be a protector. There is more to being a dad than just protecting your kids. Gohan, you have to build a relationship with your kids and right now you're not building the right kind of relationship with Cheena. Stop hating Kakarot for something he hasn't even done yet. Yeah the kid has some dormant mental illnesses, but that just means we have to help him because that is what family does. If he ends up having a mental breakdown then we shouldn't attack him or lock him away. We should gather around him and protect him, love him, and show him that no matter what he will always be able to turn to us. Love is always stronger than fear. We shouldn't fear Kakarot for what he may become. We should love him because of the sweet and caring boy he is."

Videl thought back to earlier today when Kakarot tried to cheer her up when she was sad about Gohan not showing up at school, "You should be proud of Kakarot for being so protective and sweet to Cheena. Like today when Cheena was upset about you not showing up at school, the first thing Kakarot did was try and come up with a way to cheer her up." Videl thought about it and said, "I truly believe that Kakarot would rather go through the most gruesome tortures imaginable than let Cheena suffer any kind of pain for even a moment. And I am so thankful and proud of him for that."

Gohan looked down in shame, "I know you're right. I'm so pathetic. I bet Kakarot, Goten, and Roza all hate me."

"I don't think that's true. But I do think you did hurt their feelings. You need to apologize to them." Videl told him.

Gohan nodded, "You're right. Tomorrow I'll talk with Goten and apologize."

Videl put her arms around him, "Gohan, I believe your heart is in the right place, but you just have been going too far in trying to do the right thing. You can still make this right again and I think you should start my talking with Cheena first."

Gohan nodded, "You're right. I'm going to talk to her right now."

Cheena was already floating outside Kakarot's bedroom window and tapped on his window. Kakarot had been laying on the bed on his side facing away from the window and playing Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop, Distance on his 3DS.

"Dang, Xehanort had all that planned out!? That guy is a freaking genius." Kakarot said in surprise as he watched the ending of the game play out. Then he heard a tap at his window. He rolled over and saw Cheena floating outside of his window and it looked like she had been crying.

He quickly turn his 3DS off and jumped out of bed, walking over to the window and opening it for her, "Cheena, are you okay?" He said worried.

Cheena quickly flew into his room and hugged him so fast he almost fell backwards onto the floor.

Kakarot put his arms around her, "Cheena, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Cheena shook her head, "No. My daddy said some horrible things about you and he made me so mad!"

Kakarot gave her a comforting smile, "Thank you for sticking up for me in front of him. But don't get upset over it. It doesn't matter what he says about me. All I care about is what you think of me."

Cheena buried her face into his chest, "But I can't help it. You're my best friend, when someone says something bad about you it makes me mad. I wish everyone could see how sweet you are and how kind you're heart is."

Kakarot blushed and smile, "You really know how to lay on the emotion, don't you? But thank you."

Cheena pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at Kakarot, "Um has your mom made dinner? I haven't had anything to eat since we ate lunch at school."

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah, mom made lasagna tonight. You just lay down and relax and I'll go warm up a big plate of lasagna for you!"

Cheena crawled into his bed and smiled, "Thank you, Kakarot. You always take such good care of me. One day I'll find a way to show you how much I appreciate all you do for me."

Kakarot gave her the Son family grin, "As long as we're always best friend then that is all I could ever want."

Kakarot headed downstairs and looked out a window to see his mom and dad laying in a lawn chair with his mom laying on her back on top of Goten with his arms wrapped around her and both of them sound asleep.

Kakarot smiled, "They really are a good team. Even when they do argue they never stop caring about each other. If only uncle Gohan would be like that with aunt Videl then Cheena would have to be sad like she was tonight." Kakarot looked at his sleeping parents again and for a moment he saw himself and Cheena sleeping the same way there instead and he felt really happy, he couldn't help but smile.

Kakarot closed his eyes and shook his head. When he looked back at the lawn chair he saw his parents sleeping there again. "What was that all about?" Kakarot asked confused about the image he saw of him and Cheena and the happy feeling it brought.

"I should hurry and make Cheena's lasagna." Kakarot said and walked into the kitchen.

Cheena looked at a picture of her and Kakarot at their 3rd birthday party. Kakarot had made a mess and gotten cake all over himself and she was in the picture giggling at him.

"He has always been so crazy, but he's also always been so sweet." Cheena looked down, "How can my daddy even think that Kakarot would ever hurt me? Unless he knows something about Kakarot that I don't. But it wouldn't matter even if Kakarot tried to hurt me, because it would be my job to help him get through whatever bad thing would make him hurt me." Cheena looked at another picture where Kakarot was waving at the camera with the Son family grin, "Daddy said that Kakarot should be locked away and left all alone. But I'll make sure Kakarot is never alone. If daddy wants to lock Kakarot up then he will have to lock me up too because I wont let Kakarot be alone."

Gohan was over in Cheena's room at his house and saw his daughter over in Goten's house in Kakarot's room. Gohan sighed and walked back into the hallway, "I guess I can talk to her tomorrow. I need to find a way to make this all up to Kakarot too. I need to do something for him that he has always wanted to do."

Back in Kakarot's room Cheena kept thinking about the good times and the bad times she and Kakarot have had together and she smiled, "Kakarot…" She said happy that he was not just her cousin but her closest and dearest friend.

"Yes?" Kakarot asked as he heard Cheena say his name.

Cheena turned around and saw Kakarot standing at the door with a big plate of lasagna, "Oh nothing, I was just thinking out loud is all."

"Really? What about?" Kakarot asked as he sat down in his bed next to her and handed her the lasagna.

Cheena giggled, "Sorry but a girl can't just go spilling all her secrets."

Kakarot laid back and watched her eat, "That's okay. It's more fun if I try to figure out all those secrets myself. What's fun is life without a few good mysteries to solve?"

Cheena smiled, "I love the way you think. Normally I can tell what you're thinking but sometimes you're a mystery to me. You're eyes look so gentle most of the time but sometimes you have this look in your eyes that looks so fierce but comforting, like your trying to say that everything will turn out okay somehow. That mysterious look is what assures me that no matter what you'll always be there for me."

Kakarot sat up behind her and put his arms around her waist, laying his chin on her shoulder and he whispered in her ear, "You told me once that when I hold you like this it makes you feel safe. Does it still make you feel safe?"

Cheena blushed and answered with a whisper, "Yes."

Kakarot smiled and whispered, "Then I know I'm still doing my job right: To always protect you."

Kakarot laid back down and cuddled under the blanket, "Goodnight, Cheena."

Cheena watched him fall asleep and kept her focus on his face as he slept, "Kakarot…" She leaned down, unsure of what she was doing she simply let her heart guide her actions. She leaned down until her lips were only inches from his lips and then….he began snoring.

Cheena pulled backed quickly and tried to keep herself from laughing, "Yep, you haven't changed at all since we were babies, you crazy nut."


	35. Chapter 35

The next day at school Kakarot, Cheena, Kyle, and Phillip were eating lunch together. Kakarot had been feeling sleepy all day and wanted to take a nap but teachers weren't too keen on sleeping students. Taking a bite of his pizza slice Kakarot sighed, "Ugh, so we have to come to this place like 8 or 9 months out of the year? How boring."

Phillip took a sip of milk, "Kakarot, you should be more like Cheena."

Kakarot grinned, "She's always been the smart one between the two of us. Isn't that right, Cheena?" He looked over at his cousin but suddenly his smile turned into a concerned frown.

"Cheena, you don't look so good." Kakarot said confused about her change in appearance.

Cheena looked extremely pale and her body felt weak. "Kakarot…" she mumbled exhaustingly.

Suddenly she fell unconscious and began to fall toward the floor but Kakarot caught her in time.

"Cheena! Wake up! Hey Cheena come on, wake up!" Kakarot stood up and looked at his friends, "I'm taking her to the nurse."

Kyle and Phillip both stood up and Kyle said, "We're going with you."

When the nurse saw that Cheena was unconscious she quickly got Cheena onto the bed and began asking the three boys questions while she began taking Cheena's vitals.

"Did she seem like she didn't feel good before she passed out?" The nurse asked.

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah, she looked pale and sick."

"Do you know when she started to act like this?" She asked again.

Kakarot thought about earlier this morning and recalled that Cheena didn't talk or eat much at breakfast. "Well I'm her cousin, and we live close to each other. So this morning we had breakfast together and she didn't seem like herself. She wasn't talking much and she barely ate anything. But last night she was fine…except…"

"Except what?" The nurse asked curiously.

Kakarot wasn't sure if he should bring this up but then again, this was Cheena's health he was dealing with and nothing meant more than her well being to him. "Well her dad has been arguing with her mom lately and she's been coming over to my house to get away from the fighting. It really gets her upset when her dad gets angry."

The nurse looked at the other two boys and asked them to step outside because she needed to talk with Kakarot alone.

Kakarot looked at his friends and told them, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Cheena is okay."

Once the boys stepped outside the nurse closed the door and sat down with Kakarot, "Kakarot, can you tell me why you're uncle is so angry?"

Kakarot was feeling nervous about talking about this. He would rather his mom and dad be here right now but if this would help Cheena out somehow then he had to do this for her.

"Well ma'am…he's angry because of me." Kakarot told her.

"Why? You seem like a good boy." The nurse stated.

Kakarot was wiggling his tail inside his pants nervously, "My uncle says I'm a monster and he thinks I'm going to hurt Cheena."

The nurse was taken by surprise, "Kakarot, have you ever done anything to hurt Cheena?"

Kakarot glared furiously at the nurse for even asking such a stupid question, "I've never hurt her." The 8 year old saiyan said annoyed that she would even have to ask that.

The nurse however took Kakarot's reaction the wrong. Kakarot was offended that anyone would think he would ever lay a harmful hand on Cheena. The nurse took Kakarot's reaction as a sign of a violent nature underlying his kind outer personality.

"Kakarot stay here please. I'm going to call your parents and Cheena's parents. I need to talk with them." The nurse said making her way out to the main office to call his parents.

Kakarot walked over to his sleeping cousin and took her hand into his, "If your dad's actions caused this to happen to you. I'll make him pay."

He looked down at her beautiful face as she slept peacefully and he felt a tear trickle down his face, "Why do people think I want to hurt you? Why did I do wrong? I always thought bad people had to choose to be evil…but maybe some people are born evil and I'm one of those people and maybe that's why your dad doesn't like me. But if I am a bad person then…how can I care about you so much? A truly evil person can't care about someone as much as I care about you." He dried his eyes with his shirt sleeve and sighed, "It doesn't matter…just as long as you never stop being my friend."

About 30 minutes later Gohan came rushing into the room to see Cheena but Kakarot stood in front of Gohan, blocking him off from getting to Cheena. Gohan could see that Kakarot was ticked off.

"Let me see my daughter." Gohan ordered.

Kakarot kept his angry glare focused on his uncle, "You're stupid attitude is probably what put her in this shape! The last thing she needs is to deal with you."

Gohan looked down in shame, "I know. I screwed up. I'm sorry."

Kakarot was surprised by his uncle's sudden change of heart, "What are you doing? Just last night you told Cheena I was a monster and needed to be locked away. Now you're acting all nice and stuff. That doesn't make sense."

"I know. I'll explain later but right now just let me see my daughter, please." Gohan asked sincerely.

Kakarot didn't think Gohan would ever intentionally hurt her, but still his actions lately have unintentionally hurt her. Even though he was mad at his uncle for that, he decided to let back down since Cheena wasn't in any danger. Still though Kakarot was going to confront his uncle later about all of this and how it has been affecting Cheena.

"Fine, but if she wakes up and you get her upset I'm coming back in here and I wont back down." Kakarot stepped outside passing his aunt Videl and went to the main office where his parents were talking with the nurse, the principle, and the school counselor.

Kakarot immediately took notice of how is father looked. He seemed extremely nervous, frightened, and looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown in front of everyone. Kakarot didn't understand at all why being called down to school would cause such an extreme reaction in his dad.

Then Kakarot spotted the concern his mother had in her eyes for his dad. His mother must understand exactly what was making his dad act the way he was.

Then all the adults in the office turned to look at Kakarot. The counselor asked Goten and Roza if they would come with her into her office so she could talk to them alone, and of course Roza and Goten agreed. But before they left the office Goten kneeled down in front of Kakarot and hugged him.

"Kakarot, promise me that if anyone tries to take you that you'll run away. Find grandpa and get away, okay." Goten was almost pleading with his son.

Kakarot nodded in agreement but had to ask, "I promise, but why dad? And why are you so nervous dad?"

Goten pulled his son back into another hug and thought back to when the cops took him away at school to jail and the way his mother cried when she found out he was being accused of rape. But Goten wasn't ready to tell Kakarot the truth about his painful past.

"I'm just being an overprotective parent I guess." Goten said with a fake smile so his son wouldn't worry about him. "I love you little buddy."

"I love you too, daddy." Kakarot said as he watched his mom and dad leave the main office. The 8 year old was left confused and now he was worried not only about Cheena but his dad too.

In the counselor's office the lady sat down and began to express her concern, "The nurse tells that when asked if he did something to hurt his cousin, Kakarot had an angry reaction to the question."

"Well of course he would. Do you know how much Kakarot cares about Cheena? Those two have been best friends since they were babies. It's no wonder that Kakarot would be insulted by such a question." Roza tried to explain the situation between Cheena and Kakarot.

The counselor was taken back by Roza's quick defense of her son, "Ma'am, I realize they may be close friends and all. But according to what Kakarot said, Cheena's father has been having bursts of anger, anger directed toward Kakarot because he believes Kakarot will hurt her." The counselor cleared her throat and then continued, "I don't believe a father would make such a terrible accusation unless he had evidence that Kakarot had already hurt Cheena. Given how easy Kakarot became angry with the nurse, and the fact he nearly started a fight with another student yesterday, I think it's safe to say your son may well have some anger issues."

Goten looked confused, "Kakarot almost got in a fight yesterday. What about?"

The counselor found Goten's question to be an odd one but answered, "Does it really matter? Violence under any circumstance is wrong."

"Well not necessarily. If you had to use violence to defend someone then it certainly wouldn't be wrong in that scenario." Goten argued.

"I see…and do you always promote such violent behavior around your son." The counselor asked.

Goten glared at the woman, "Just what are you suggesting?"

"You seem familiar. Did you ever attend school here?" The counselor asked while examining Goten's face.

"What does it matter?" Goten asked nervously.

Then the counselor suddenly recognized who Goten was, "I know you! You're Son Goten! The guy who raped that poor Laura girl in high school about 23 years ago."

Goten suddenly went from angry to frightened, "No…I was proven innocent. I never raped her."

"Of course not." The counselor said in a sarcastic tone, obviously not believing him. "But you were still in prison for 15 years. Being in such violent and filthy place for so many years changes a man. Even if you didn't actually commit any crime, you still were in prison and I'm sure that changed you. It made you more violent, more unstable, and more dangerous. Regardless of your innocence, you're still affected by your prison time in a way that makes you scary to most of society. It's a stigma you are forced to carry in life. And I believe your son may not be so different from his father. I think your son will come to be nothing but a distraction and an impurity to the student body here. Perhaps you should consider pulling him out school. If he's anything like you then no matter how hard he tries, he will never be accepted by society."

Roza stood up in extreme rage and knocked the chair she was sitting in back against the wall breaking it into pieces, "Listen to me you disgusting bitch! How dare you talk about my son and my husband that way! You don't even know them! Goten has been affected by spending 15 years in prison. But it didn't make him into a violent person. It made him into a more fragile person. He used to be energetic and outgoing before that whole incident happened. But after he finally got of prison he became shy, nervous, and reclusive. But he's sweet and kind, and a damn good husband and father! He already beats himself up enough without people like you treating him like he's some kind of monster. And I'll be damned if you or anyone else treats my son like that too! You better lay off my son or I'll show you how violent I can be!"

Goten looked up at Roza and took one of her hands into his, "It's okay. Don't get upset. These people will never understand. Let's just get Kakarot and go home."

Roza looked down at Goten and could see in his eyes how hurt he was by what the counselor said, "Goten…" She said sympathetically. "Alright…we'll go home. I wont make a scene if it will end up getting you upset."

Roza glared back at the counselor, "But if you want to talk to anyone about anger issues maybe you should talk to Cheena's father. He's the one that has anger issues. Like hitting his own nephew and making him cough up blood."

The counselor quickly looked disturbed by what Roza told her.

Roza and Goten returned to the main office to sign Kakarot out for the day and take him home but Kakarot refused. He wanted to stay until he knew Cheena would be alright. When Roza asked the nurse when Cheena would wake up, the nurse told her that Gohan and Videl had already left to take her home.

Before Roza or Goten could say anything else Kakarot was already rushing outside so he could get home to Cheena. But before he could get to the main entrance Kyle and Phillip stopped him.

"Woah man, are you okay? How is Cheena?" Kyle asked.

Kakarot turned around and looked at his friends, "Sorry guys I didn't mean to just run off without telling you. I'm just worried about Cheena. Her parents already took her home. We still don't know what caused her to pass out earlier."

Phillip smiled, "Hey it's okay man. Here, we'll give you our phone numbers so you can keep us updated on her condition."

Kakarot took their numbers and smiled, "Thanks guys, I'll be sure to call you when she wakes up."

Roza and Goten were coming out of the office and spotted Kakarot talking to two boys.

"Are these your friends you told us about yesterday?" Roza asked her son.

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah mom! This is Kyle and Phillip!" Kakarot pointed to them respectively.

"It's nice to meet you!" Roza said with a smile.

Kyle and Phillip both blushed because they thought Roza looked really beautiful but also really strong, and for Kyle especially, the combination of beauty and strength was perfect. Maybe that was one reason he liked Cheena.

Kyle and Phillip bowed humbly and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. and Mrs. Son."

Roza blushed, "Kakarot forgot to mention you two are so polite."

Goten couldn't help but smile despite the attacks the counselor delivered to his feelings early, "Oh please boys, My dad doesn't even like to be called Mr. Son. Just call us Goten and Roza. When Cheena gets better you boys should really come over to Mt. Paozu sometime." Goten said with the famous Son family grin. He was happy to see Kakarot had such good friends.

"Well we better get to class before the teacher jumps on us. It was nice meeting you both! See you later, Kakarot." Phillip said and then he and Kyle headed off to their last class of the day.

Kakarot and his parents took off into the sky when they were sure no one was outside on school grounds. Once they were high enough in the air they all pulled their tails out of their pants. Kakarot was so relieved. He hated having to hide his tail at school.

They didn't say much to each other on the way home but as soon as they landed outside their house. Kakarot looked down and didn't move an inch from the spot he had landed.

"Kakarot, are you okay?" Goten asked.

Kakarot looked at his parents and asked nervously, "Mom dad….is there something you guys know about me that I don't?"

Goten and Roza both knew this day was coming. They had hoped they could just keep this a secret from him for the rest of his life, but they couldn't lie to him. Kakarot had a right to know the truth.

"Yes son, we do know something about you. Something we've been keeping a secret. Come inside and we'll explain everything." Goten took Kakarot by his hand and led him inside, it was time Kakarot knew the truth.


	36. Chapter 36

Roza sat down with Kakarot on the couch, and Goten sat down on the other side of his son. Kakarot could sense the hesitation coming from his parents. It was driving him crazy. He had to know what they were hiding.

"Mommy, daddy, just tell me what's going on." Kakarot pleaded.

Roza put her arms around Kakarot but he pushed her away and then demanded, "Stop babying me! I want to know the truth now!" His tail fur stuck up as he became annoyed with his parents' attempt to hide the truth.

Goten sighed and began to explain, "Kakarot, about 23 years ago some things happened and daddy went through a really hard time." Goten couldn't go any further and nodded at Roza to continue.

Roza took a deep breath, "Kakarot, do you know what rape is?"

Kakarot nodded, "It's that thing Angelica tried to do to me, right?"

"That's right. Well 23 years ago the police thought your daddy raped a girl." Roza stopped her story right there to let Kakarot take in this shocking news.

Kakarot looked horrified and stunned. He looked at his dad, "Why? Why would they think that!? Daddy, you would never hurt an innocent girl like that! Why dad!? Why!?"

Goten was fighting back the tears, "I asked myself that same question for 15 years, Kakarot. I was sure they would find out I was innocent but they didn't and I was locked away in prison for 15 years before they found out I didn't do anything."

Kakarot shook his head in disbelief, "But that isn't fair! Prison is for bad people! You're a good guy, daddy! You should have broke out of prison! You should have made them pay for what they did!" Kakaort said that last sentence with a true saiyan tone of anger.

"Kakarot, calm down." Goten tried to get his son to relax so he didn't transform.

Kakarot stood up and shouted, "NO! What they did to you was unfair! They shouldn't get away with it! Lock them up for 15 years and see how they like it!"

Goten and Roza both could feel his ki rising as his began to spike up slightly more than normal.

"Kakarot STOP!" Goten shouted so loud it frightened Kakarot, causing the boy's ki to return to normal.

"But daddy…" Kakarot couldn't understand how his dad could just keep on living without getting back at the people who locked him up.

Goten looked at Roza, "Kakarot, I know I should hate all the people responsible for what happened to me. That would make sense. But love doesn't make sense sometimes…that's what makes it such a mystery." Goten explained.

"What do you mean? What does love have to do with this?" Kakarot asked very confused.

Goten hugged Roza, "Love has everything to do with this story."

Roza pushed Goten away slightly and looked down in shame, "Kakarot…" She was so afraid her son would hate her after she explained to him the truth about the ones responsible for what happened to Goten.

"Kakarot…" Roza continued, "You had another uncle. Your grandpa Goku unknowingly had a son with another saiyan woman a long time ago. "His name was Ryo and he looked a lot like your father. Ryo was the one who really raped that girl. Being your dad's brother their DNA had similarities and so they mistook it for Goten's DNA since the cops didn't even know Ryo existed. When they looked at it 15 years later, they found the DNA wasn't your dad's and he was freed from prison."

Roza waited a moment to catch her breath before she continued, "Goku didn't know he was Ryo's dad or that Ryo even existed for decades. Ryo felt abandoned by Goku and came to hate your grandpa, and also came to hate Gohan and your dad for getting to be a family with Goku. But Ryo wasn't nearly as strong as his father and sought revenge the only he could: by attacking your grandpa's heart. He framed Goten for the rape because he knew it would hurt Goku. Nothing hurts a parent worse than seeing their children hurt."

Kakarot was shocked that his parents had hid all of this from him, but he still didn't understand, "But what does love have to do with all of this."

"You're uncle Ryo wasn't working alone. He has an older sister who helped him. Well she is actually his half sister. They shared the same mother but not the same father. Ryo's sister is….me." Roza turned away and begin to cry uncontrollably in a manner unlike what a saiyan woman should act like.

Kakarot was frozen in place, horrified by what his mom just admitted to. He shook his head and tears trickled down his cheeks, "No…no no no NO! Mom please no! How could you!? How could you hurt daddy like that!?"

Goten pulled Roza into a hug and rubbed her back gently as she cried in his chest. Then he looked as Kakarot and said, "Son, listen to me. Your mom she changed. After I got out of prison Ryo and your mom tried to complete their revenge but Roza couldn't go through with it. Our relationship started out as a lie but we both fell in love together. It took me awhile but I couldn't hate her no matter how much I wanted to. I loved her…I always will love your mom. I know it didn't make sense to love her…to forgive her…but love doesn't have to make sense, we don't have to understand it. The fact that we can't comprehend love in a logical manner shows how powerful it really is."

Goten let go of Roza and kneeled down in front of Kakarot, "Please don't hate your mom. She already feels guilty enough. Remember a few weeks ago when you thought I had hit your mom and we told you I just did it to wake her up from a nightmare that I couldn't wake her up from otherwise? The truth is Kakarot, your mom was trying to get me to beat her up for what she did to me. I almost did it, I was mad at her, but I couldn't go through with it."

Goten lowered his head and began to cry, "Kakarot, after that whole tragedy ended with Ryo, your mom and I spent a few months alone and not long after that you were born. We both we're so happy to have you. All we wanted was to just have some kind of life where we could have some kind of happiness that would make our painful pasts a little less painful. You make our lives so much better, son. We both love you more than you'll ever know. Don't be mad at your mom, because she loves you so much. She's not the person she used to be. So please let her be the great mother she has always been to you."

Kakarot sat down on the couch, buried his face into his hands and screamed in frustration. "I..I don't know what to think or how I should feel right now." The young boy felt so conflicted between his love for his mom and his anger toward her for hurting her dad.

"Kakarot, I know this is a lot for you to take in but you need to try and calm down. There is more to this story and it's about you." Goten said as he sat down next to Kakarot and rubbed his son's back soothingly.

"What is it?" Kakarot said in a cold harsh tone.

Goten looked at Roza and then back at Kakarot who still had his head hung low. "Kakarot, I was traumatized by the time I spent in prison and the events leading up to it, not to mention the conflict that went on with Ryo after I was released from prison. That trauma left scars but not the kind of scars you can. I developed some mental problems. Some of them aren't so bad, some of them are pretty extreme. And some mental illnesses can be transferred from a parent to a child."

Kakarot immediately knew where his father was going with this, "I have mental problems, don't I?" Kakarot asked but already was sure of the answer.

Goten looked down in shame, he felt like it was his fault his son was like this. "Right now they're dormant and not active, but yes you do." Goten confirmed.

Kakarot was shivering nervously, "You said my mental illnesses are dormant. So it's like they're asleep. If they were to be triggered, if they were woken up, then what would happen?"

Goten took a deep breath, "I wont lie to you, son. Bulma was the one who first discovered you had mental illnesses dormant and she also figured out what would happen if they were triggered. You remember when Angelica almost killed Cheena and I became so angry I went into that weird transformation that lasted only for a few minutes? Well it turns that transformation is a result of me having both human and saiyan DNA. It's a form only human saiyan hybrids can achieve. I'm half saiyan and half human so I can only maintain the transformation for a short time. Your 3 quarters saiyan and only 1 quarter human, so if you were to transform like that."

"It could become permanent. If one of my mental issues is triggered then it could also trigger that transformation and because I'm mostly saiyan I could transform like that permanently. If I can't control myself in that form then I could destroy and hurt a lot of people…." Suddenly everything his uncle Gohan had said about him being a monster, hurting Cheena, and how he should be locked away made sense, "I could hurt Cheena."

Kakarot looked at his hands and began to freak out at the thought of hurting Cheena and being unable to stop himself, "So I really am a monster. I really could hurt her. Uncle Gohan was right…I should be locked away forever."

"That's not true! You're our son! You'd never lose control and hurt Cheena or anyone!" Roza argued with her son.

Kakarot couldn't take this. He couldn't handle this. He had to get out of here. "AAAAAH!" He screamed and ran out of the house in tears.

"We have to talk to him!" Goten jumped up ready to chase after his son but stopped when something strange appeared before them.

First there was a dark portal and from it came one of the hooded figures that had rescued Cheena and Kakarot from the grey monsters that attacked them weeks earlier.

The mysterious figure pointed at Goten and said, "You just made our job a lot harder."

Kakarot kept running and running until he reached a cliff. He wasn't watching where he was going and fell off the cliff, rolling down the side of it and landing on his side. His body bruised and scraps and cuts on different parts of his body, Kakarot laid there and cried softly, "I'm just a monster…" He kept telling himself.

Meanwhile Cheena was still asleep when all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her heart like she was drowning in a river of despair and it was causing her emotional heart to burst like her lungs would after holding her breath for too long under water. The pain was so strong it caused her to wake up. She somehow knew this pain wasn't hers, it belonged to someone else, someone deeply tied to her. It was Kakarot's pain.

Her father had been sitting next to her bed when she woke up. Cheena knew he was going to ask if she was okay but she didn't have time to answer questions right now. She had to find Kakarot.

She jumped out of bed and left her house without a word, leaving her father deeply confused and worried. At first Cheena was running toward Goten's house but something told her that Kakarot wasn't there. Her heart led her into the forest and toward a cliff. She looked down to see Kakarot laying on the ground below crying. Cheena flew down and cradled Kakarot in her arms, letting him lay on her lap.

"Kakarot, what's wrong!? Why are you crying!? Who made you cry like this!? I could feel your pain, and it was so strong. Please tell me what's wrong?" Cheena pleaded for answers as she tried to calm him.

Kakarot couldn't look at her, "Your dad has been right all along. I really am a monster! Get away from me! I don't want to hurt you!" Kakarot pushed himself out of her arms.

But Cheena just forced Kakarot to let her hold him, "You're not a monster! And even if you were it doesn't matter! You're my best friend and I'll never leave you even if you do hurt me! Monster or not, you're still Kakarot and the sweetest monster I know."

Kakarot buried his face in Cheena's chest and cried, "I'm afraid…of myself…"

He kept crying until he cried himself to sleep. Cheena felt an odd comfort come over her as Kakarot slept cradled in her arms with his head resting against her chest.

She smiled and whispered to her sleeping cousin, "Mine…" She told him.


	37. Chapter 37

Goku had been out most of the day fishing. He was walking back home carrying a large fish over his shoulder when he spotted his grandkids sleeping together against the side of a large rock. Kakarot was laying in Cheena's lap, with his upper body cradled in her arms.

Goku smiled proudly, "Those two look great together. But why are they sleeping out here?"

He walked over to the sleeping kids and kneeled down in front of them. "I hate to wake them up. But I'm curious about why they're out here."

He gently nudged Cheena and said softly, "Hey Cheena! Sweetheart wake up! It's grandpa!"

Cheena blinked a few times and yawned, "Grandpa?" She said in a sleepy tone.

Goku smiled, "Hey sweetheart. Why are you and Kakarot sleeping outside?"

Cheena lowered her head in sadness as she thought about what Kakarot had said earlier, "I came out here because I felt Kakarot was hurting inside. I found him crying out here and he was telling me that he is a monster. He said he should be alone because he'll hurt me." Cheena stroked Kakarot's spiky black hair, "Do you have any idea what he's talking about, grandpa?"

Goku sat down and nodded, "Yes, I do. I guess Goten and Roza must have told him the truth. So you should know the truth about Kakarot too. After all you two are best friends."

So Goku explained everything about Goten's past, Roza's past, Ryo, and Kakarot's mental illness and possible monstrous transformation.

"So that's the truth. I know it's probably not easy to take in right now, but that's the reality of the situation." Goku said in conclusion of his explanation.

Cheena looked down at Kakarot who was still sleeping like a baby, "Kakarot…all this time there was truth behind my dad's words?"

Goku looked stunned, "Cheena, he's not a monster like your father has tried to make him out to be."

Cheena nodded, "I know. I'm not saying he is a monster. But he is fragile….he needs me to protect him. Not to protect his body but to protect his heart. If setting off of one his mental illnesses could trigger that transformation, then all I have to do is make sure no one ever hurts his heart so bad that it breaks him. He always takes care of me when I need his help and he always protects me. But I made a promise to grandma Chi-Chi too. I promised I would be the light to guide him through the dark times in his life. So protecting his heart is my duty."

Goku patted her shoulder proudly, "You're a good friend to him, Cheena."

Goku looked down at his grandson and stroked his cheek gently, "Poor little guy is exhausted. I can sense his energy is pretty low, he must be in a deep sleep. Let's get him back home where he can rest."

Goku took Kakarot into his arms and began walking home with Cheena taking the large fish and following behind her grandpa.

Back at Goten's house, Goten and Roza stood worried and confused about the hooded stranger that had appeared before them.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Roza asked.

The stranger sighed, "Honestly, you couldn't have just waited until the kid was at least 10 or 12 to tell him? Young parents can be so rash in their judgment. 8 year olds can get so emotional, and yet you still go and drop the bomb that the kid is a stick of dynamite waiting to be ignited. Bravo, nice job!" The stranger clapped mockingly.

Goten gritted his teeth, "Hey, my wife asked you a question! Now tell us who you are and what the hell you want? And how do you know about Kakarot's mental problems?"

The stranger laughed a little bit and answer, "I can't tell you my name, but I can answer your other two questions to an extent. My partners and I have been watching over Cheena and Kakarot for a number of years now. But we're not the only ones keeping an eye on the kids. You see there are other groups working in the shadows as well and they aren't exactly interested in the best well being of the kids. It's our job to counteract those groups and ensure the little ones stay safe. Now that Kakarot knows the truth about his condition, he is going to take precautions to keep himself from snapping. Such a change in his usual carefree behavior is going to be noticed by his enemies and they will exploit that information to their advantage."

Roza was real close to snapping, "My son is not some pawn in whatever game you and these other groups are playing. You better back off and leave the kids alone."

"Or what, woman?" The stranger mocked.

Roza shot forward at the stranger and punched him in the stomach, "I hope that hurt!"

The stranger grunted slightly and knocked Roza away in anger. Roza stopped herself and began firing ki blasts at the strangers, but Goten quickly stopped her.

"Roza, calm down! You don't want to destroy the house do you?" Goten said pulling her hand to the side.

Roza breathed deeply to get herself to relax, "You're right. So let's take this outside!"

Goten glared at the man, "You said you're job was to keep these other groups from getting to the kids."

The stranger nodded, "Kakarot is their primary target but Cheena could be used as a valuable tool in their overall goals."

"And what are their goals?" Roza asked.

"Sorry but that information stays with me." The stranger said seriously.

Goten grabbed the man by collar and told him sternly, "This is my son and my niece we're talking about. We have a right to know who is after them!" Goten was trying to make out the face of the man in the hood but before he could see any real details, the stranger used his energy to push himself away from Goten.

After brushing his chest off the man pointed to Goten and warned him, "Just relax for now. You asked me what I wanted? Simple, I want your son. When the time comes I will take him and if you love him you will let him go."

Goten and Roza both went super saiyan, "That's isn't going to happen!" Goten stated angrily. "Kakarot is staying where he belongs: right here at home! He's our son and we'll give our last breath to protect him!" Roza stated equally as pissed off as her husband.

The stranger sighed, "Whatever. When the time comes you'll understand all we're trying to do is keep both of those kids safe." And with that the man was gone without a trace.

As soon as the man had disappeared Roza powered down and looked at Goten who had also powered down. "Goten, what do we do?"

Goten shook slightly due to nerves. "Roza…we are not going to say anything to Kakarot about this. He knows too much about himself already, and he doesn't need any more problems weighing him down. He's 8 years old, he deserves a normal life…a life that I never had."

Roza looked concerned, "I understand that, Goten. But you heard that man, he's going to take Kakarot. What are we going to do? Follow Kakarot around all day. The school wouldn't want his parents sticking with him all day during class."

Goten sat down on the couch and sighed, "I know that. If we have to then we'll pull him out of school, him and Cheena both. I'd rather have my son safe with us and without an education, than to have him with an education and gone from us forever." Goten was trying to think of a way to keep his son safe without messing up his life, "If we pull the kids out school then they'll suspect we're hiding something and Kakarot will end up learning about that hooded man."

Roza gasped in horror, "Wait! Kakarot hasn't come home yet!"

Goten jumped and made a burst for the door. As soon as he opened it there stood Goku and Cheena with Kakarot holding his tail and sleeping peacefully in Goku's arms.

Without Goten even having to ask Goku said, "Don't worry, he's fine. I found him and Cheena sleeping at the bottom of a cliff. I understand everything that happened, but I think we need to talk."

Goten agreed but asked that Goku send Kakarot and Cheena upstairs so Kakarot could rest. When that was done Goku came back downstairs and saw the trouble look in Roza and Goten's eyes.

Goku sat in the recliner across from the couch and asked, "So you two want to explain to me what is going on? I sensed an odd presence here earlier."

Upstairs Cheena sat on the bed and watched Kakarot sleep, "Mental illnesses? How can he have something like that? He's Kakarot…he's always been so cheerful, he makes me smile. He's so goofy and yet so strong. I don't understand how Kakarot can have something wrong with his head when he's been so good to me." She focused on his peaceful face as he continued to sleep, "He's not a monster." She thought back to all the nights he held her, all the nights he comforted her when she was scared or sad. "He's gentle…and strong at the same time. He'd never do anything to hurt me…he's my best friend."

Cheena snuggled under the blanket, put her head on Kakarot's chest, and then put his arms over herself. "If he was a monster then I should feel afraid. But the truth is I've never felt more safe than I do right now."


	38. Chapter 38

Goten had finished explaining what happened with Kakarot and the hooded figure. Gohan and Videl had come over to learn about what happened.

Goku sighed, "So now we have these hooded creeps following the kids around, and not just them but some other groups we don't know anything about? I don't like this, we don't have any idea what we're dealing with and that means they have the advantage."

"Where are the kids right now?" Videl asked.

"Kakarot is asleep upstairs and Cheena is up there with him." Roza answered.

Gohan stood up, "Listen I need to talk with both of them."

Goten immediately stood up as well, "Gohan, don't even think about it. You're thinking that since these enemies are after Kakarot that it will also put Cheena in danger because she hangs around Kakarot so much. Well don't you even think about hurting my son."

Gohan shook his head, "That wasn't what I was thinking. Please Goten, I just need to do this."

"Fine but if I get even a small sense something wrong is happening upstairs I'm coming up there." Goten warned as he sat back down.

Gohan sighed and walked upstairs. He opened the door and saw Cheena in Kakarot's arm and her head resting on his chest. Both were sound asleep. Knowing he couldn't wait any longer to apologize, he put down his apology in writing and left the message in Cheena's left hand.

About an hour later Kakarot woke up and saw Cheena resting her head on his chest and fast asleep in his arms. That made him smile, but he frowned when he remembered how he ended up here.

"I'm a freak. Sorry Cheena…I know I promised to never leave you but I also promised I would protect you. If I'm a danger to you then I have to leave to make sure I don't hurt you." Kakarot began to gently stroke cheek.

He smiled sadly, "Besides you'll be okay without me around. You have our whole family to watch over you. And you'll make new friends like Kyle and Phillip. I think we both know you're better at making friends than I am. My parents will miss me too, but I'm sure they'll have another baby one day and then they wont need me anymore. Uncle Gohan was right…." Kakarot let a few tears escape his yes, "I shouldn't be a part of this family….I should be locked away forever….I don't want hurt anyone….especially you, Cheena."

Kakarot gently lifted her off of his chest. He got out of bed and kissed Cheena's cheek, "Goodbye Cheena. I'm going to miss you so much."

Just then Kakarot noticed the piece of paper in her hand. He took it from her and began to read his uncle's message. What he read was enough to make him cry. More importantly it made him change his mind about leaving. He put the letter down and immediately woke Cheena up.

"Kakarot?" She said with a sleepy tone.

Kakarot put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, "Come here, Cheena."

Cheena was confused and worried, "Why are you crying? Kakarot, if it's about your mental issues then don't be sad. I don't care if there is something wrong with your brain, you're still Kakarot at heart. You're still my best friend and nothing can change that. I'm not afraid of you."

Kakarot hugged her tighter, "I know. I just never realized how much I really meant to you until now."

Cheena looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Here read your father's message." Kakarot handed her the paper.

Cheena looked at the message and began to read it:

_"Cheena, I meant to tell you this in person but maybe it's better this way. I know I've been hard on Kakarot lately and I know that I've upset you. By now I'm sure Kakarot has told you about his mental illnesses. I was afraid of what he could become and what he could do to you if he ever lost control of himself. You don't understand right now but you will when you have children of your own someday. Parents sometimes act irrationally because of the fear of losing their children. Fathers are supposed to be the protectors and providers of their families, and while fathers love their sons, they are especially protective of their daughters. The bond between a father and daughter is something so amazing I can't possibly begin to even describe it in words._

_I know that doesn't excuse the way I've been treating Kakarot, and I wont make any excuse for my for my actions and words against him. I want you to know that I do love Kakarot. He's my nephew but he also has been your best friend and your protector. I can't thank him enough for the love and devotion he has toward you._

_Now that he knows the truth I'm sure he's confused and doesn't know how to react to all this. If he's anything like his father or I then he probably is worried himself about what he is capable of. My guess is that he is starting to believe he's a monster. All the times I have called him a monster is probably convincing him further into believing that. But I want him to know something. You may not remember but there was something that happened a few years ago that he should know about it._

_When you and Kakarot were about 3 years old we had a picnic near the lake. It was a perfect day. The kind of day that makes you really appreciate being alive and having a family. You and Kakarot were chasing each other around in a game of tag. We should have been keeping an eye on you kids but for some reason we got distracted with preparing the food and lost track of you both._

_When we couldn't find either of you close by we all panicked. Goten, grandpa Goku, and I began searching the forest for you both. We all sensed a sudden rise in Kakarot's power level and rushed to where the signal had come from. We found you both laying on the shore of the river a couple of miles downstream from where our picnic was set up. You were both unconscious with Kakarot laying on top of you protectively. Both of you were cold and wet so we knew you had been in the river. Goten and I got you both home quickly and sat in front of the fireplace holding you both in our arms with blankets wrapped around each of you._

_You were the first to wake up so I asked if you were okay and what happened to you two. You explained that you both went into the forest to play and ended up at the river on the other side of the forest. Kakarot was playing too rough and accidentally pushed you into the water. Without a moment of hesitation he began running across the shore following you as the currents took you downstream. You guys didn't know how to fly yet. Kakarot was trying to find spot to grab you out of the water but you were starting to be drug under the water and he knew he didn't have any time to waste. Kakarot jumped into the water and tried his hardest to swim to you but the currents were too strong._

_You both were heading to a spot in the lake filled with sharp jagged rocks. You said Kakarot began to glow yellow and his hair flashed yellow. He screamed and the next thing you knew he was flying in the air pulling you out of the water and flew straight for the shore where you both passed out._

_Needless to say Goten and I were shocked at the story you told. Kakarot didn't achieve super saiyan that day but he had somehow tapped into it's power long enough to save you. Kakarot had actually overdid and due to using so much power to save you his immune system got weak. Kakarot was sick for the next couple of weeks. You wanted to be there with him to make sure he was okay. Every day you spent in his bed until he got better. One day he was sick I was going to take you to the new theme park that had opened in Hercule City. I knew you had wanted to go to the grand opening for months now and that tickets to the opening day were rare. You didn't want to go and so I asked you why not. The answer you gave me is something that has stuck with me in the back of my mind since that day. You looked at and answered honestly and simply, "Daddy, I can live without some silly theme park. But I can't live without Kakarot. What if he dies…" you never finished your sentence because you began crying just at the thought of losing Kakarot. "I don't want Kakarot to die, daddy." You cried and cried for an hour until you couldn't cry anymore._

_The reason I brought that event up is because I wanted Kakarot to see that his power is something he can control. It's something he chooses how it is used. It's not something that has to be used for causing destruction. He can use his power to help people. He's not a monster. He doesn't have the heart of a monster. Someone who cares about you as much as he does has the heart of a hero. And he better not even think about running away or think about being locked away. It's like you told me: You can't live without him. So his place is right here at home with us._

_I'm sorry Cheena for the way I've been acting and I'm sorry Kakarot for treating you the way I have been lately."_

_Love, daddy._

Cheena smiled softly, "I had almost forgot about that incident." She softly began to cry, "You're not going to run away are you? If you do, I'll find you again. I wont let you be all alone."

Kakarot held her hand, "Just tell me one thing. Do you think I'm a monster?"

Cheena shook her head, "No. I think you're an angel."

Kakarot hugged her, "Then I'll stay. As long as you want me around then I'll stay right here with you."


	39. Chapter 39

Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Pan were asked to come over by Goku so they could explain the situation to them. Goten went over everything the hooded man had told him. He also informed Bulma that Kakarot knew the truth about his condition.

"So now we have to figure out a way to keep the kids safe without messing up their lives." Goten stated.

Bulma was racking her brain trying to figure out a solution. She had one idea in mind, but wasn't sure if it would really be the right thing to do.

"There is one thing we could try, but I don't think you all will like it." Bulma admitted.

Gohan looked cautiously curious, "What did you have in mind, Bulma?"

Bulma took a deep breath and began to explain, "Virtual reality. Capsule Corp has been working on new technology dealing with detail virtual reality programs that create settings that are almost indistinguishable from reality. If we were to put Cheena and Kakarot in a virtual reality world that is designed to be an exact digital replica of the real world then they could believe they are in the real world living out their lives as they normally would. But in truth they would be sleeping peacefully in virtual reality pods in a secure location where we could protect them."

Goten shook his head, "No! Absolutely not! Tricking them into believing that they are living in the real world when in fact they're not. I can't do that to them."

"It would only be for a little while. Once we find out what is really going with the hooded man and the other people after Kakarot and Cheena, then we can wake them up and they can go back to living real life. Surely it wouldn't take but a few months to figure this whole situation out, right?" Bulma argued.

Vegeta scoffed, "If only it were that simple. If these enemies have kept themselves hidden for this long then obviously it's going to take more than just a few months to get the answers we need. We don't even have the first idea of what kind of threat we are dealing with here. So for all we know it could take years to end all of this."

Bulma sighed, "Could you try to be a little more positive, Vegeta?"

"I'm being a realist, woman." Vegeta countered.

Goten looked at Bulma and said, "Bulma, I know you mean well. But I just can't go through with that idea. I'm sure Roza, Gohan, and Videl all feel the same."

Roza nodded, "Hiding isn't going to solve this. We need to face this thing head on, but we have to do so wisely."

"Sorry Bulma, but I agree with Roza on this one." Gohan agreed.

Videl nodded, "Look if it absolutely comes down to the worse possible scenario then maybe virtual reality is an option but I think we should only use that as a last resort."

Bulma actually felt relieved they didn't want to go through with her idea. She felt uncomfortable about it herself. "I suppose you're right. So what are we going to do then?"

Goten heard the sound of footsteps coming toward the top of the stairs, "We'll talk about this after the kids are asleep. They're coming downstairs. No one mention the hooded man to them. I don't want them to worry."

Kakarot froze at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Bulma's family had been invited over. He looked down and said nervously, "Are you guys going to lock me away?" He could almost cry he was so afraid.

Cheena stepped up in front of him and extended her arms out like she was defending him, "Leave him alone." She said sternly.

Goten walked over to Cheena and kneeled down in front of her, "Cheena, no one is going to hurt him. I wouldn't let anyone hurt Kakarot."

Cheena lowered her arms, "Then what are all of you doing here?" Cheena glared at everyone in the room, "He doesn't need a bunch of questioning right now. He's tired and he's hungry. So just let us get him something to eat and let him rest."

Kakarot looked over at Bulma, "Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner? This my brain we're talking about. I have a right to know if something is wrong with me."

Bulma looked down, "Kakarot, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know because I didn't think it was fair for a child to have to deal with something like this."

Kakarot glared at his mom, "And why didn't you tell me you hurt daddy?"

Roza didn't say anything. She just kept silent and lowered her head in shame.

Kakarot punched the wall in frustration, "Do I look stupid to you guys? You think you can just hide everything from me? You guys should have just told me that I'm messed up, and then help me." Tears began to escape his eyes.

Kakarot pointed at his mom, "And you! You're my mom…a mommy and daddy are supposed to love each other and be a team. What kind of teammate hurts their partner?"

Roza looked at her son and saw the rage burning inside him, but she also saw a gleam of pain. He loved his mom but that love was conflicted with a strong sense of justice he inherited from his dad and grandfather. Kakarot knew bad people were supposed to pay for their crimes, but what happens when the bad guy is your own mother? Roza knew the conflict burning inside of her son very well. She had faced those same conflicting emotions over Ryo. Of course she knew it was different in the sense that a son sees his mother as a caregiver and nurturer. Now the one who should nurture him turns out to be someone who could do something as horrible as what she had done. Roza hated herself for putting her son through this.

"Kakarot…" Roza said painfully. "I'm not going to stand here and try to defend what I did to your father. If you want to hate me Kakarot then I can't blame you….I just…."

Goten saw the pain in her eyes and approached her to comfort her, but Roza resisted his comfort.

She looked at Goten and with eyes filling with tears she said, "I think I should go."

Goten shook his head, "What do you mean? Go where? Roza, this is your home."

Roza didn't agree, "Goten…I love you and Kakarot with all my heart and soul. But I think it's best for both of you if I just leave. I don't want to stay here if all I'm going to end up doing is hurting you both."

Goten closed his eyes, tears escaped and trickled down his face, and his hands were shaking. "But….you're my wife….you're his mother….you're coming back sometime, right? This is just for a little while, right?"

Roza looked down, "I don't know….it depends if you and Kakarot want me to come back."

Cheena looked at Kakarot and could sense the conflict inside him. She took his hand into hers and whispered to him, "Kakarot…I know it's not easy but…she's your mom…"

"So that makes what she did right? I should just show her mercy simply because she's my mother?" Kakarot whispered back angrily.

Cheena shook her head, "I'm not saying that. But Kakarot I don't want you to be consumed by anger…and if anger consumes you then it just isn't right. You're a good person, you get angry because you hate to see innocent people in pain. That's a good thing but….if you let the anger control you instead of you controlling the anger…then wouldn't that make you the monster you're trying to not become? You don't have to find a way to forgive….but I believe you'll make the right choice."

Roza began to walk out the door. Just as she opened it, Kakarot came running up to her and hugged her. "Mom wait…I…just please stay…" He cried.

"Don't go…mommy please…I..I need you." Kakarot gripped his mom's leg tightly.

Roza kneeled down in front of him and dried his tears, "Aren't you mad at me?"

Kakarot nodded, "Of course I'm mad….but I….I don't know what to do….I don't want you to leave even if I'm mad at you….I'm so confused and…" Kakarot burst out crying and screaming like crazy.

Goten walked over to his wife and son and put his arms around them, "Kakarot, it's okay. Just cry son. Let it out. There is nothing wrong with crying….don't hold it back."

Cheena watched the sad scene before her and cried softly for the pain and confusion Kakarot must feel, "Kakarot…"

Videl looked over at Cheena and whispered to her, "Go comfort him. I know you want to."

Cheena walked over to Kakarot and he separated from his parents so she could hug him. "See, it's just like I promised grandma Chi-Chi: That I would be a light for you if you ever were in a dark place."

Kakarot smiled and whispered to her, "You're right. See, I need you too Cheena."

Vegeta couldn't help but smile at the two saiyan children, but he quickly put away the smile so no one would see. He looked at Goku and said, "Alright enough of the hugging. Kakarot, you promised there would be food. So are we going to eat or not?"

"Oh right! I guess we all could use some dinner! Things have been so serious today that I almost forgot how hungry I am! Hope you all like fish because I caught a big one today!" Goku said with the famous Son family grin.

Dinner went well and after dinner the Briefs left for home. Gohan took Goten into the living to speak in private. "Goten, send Kakarot to school tomorrow. Don't worry about his safety. I'll have Piccolo keep an eye on him. After all stealth is one of Piccolo's specialties. The kids will never know he's watching them."

Goten smiled, "That sounds like a great idea."

Gohan looked down, "Oh and Goten about how I've been treating Kakarot…"

Goten stopped him, "It's fine. Videl told me everything. Let's just move on. We're a family, and right now we need to stand together as a family for both of our kids."

Gohan nodded and hugged his little brother, "Thank you."

Cheena was outside with Kakarot. "So are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked.

Kakarot smiled, "Yeah. You go on home with your parents. I'm sure they'll want to be with you tonight. I'll see you in the morning when we head off for school. Besides if you need me tonight my bedroom window is right across from your bedroom window. That's the cool thing about being neighbors."

Cheena nodded, "Okay. Take care of yourself." Without thinking she kissed his cheek.

Both blushed and Kakarot smiled, "Well that was a nice goodnight kiss."

Cheena blushed even more, "I don't know where that came from."

Kakarot laughed, "Cheena relax. It's just a little kiss on the cheek. My mom kisses me on the cheek too. It's normal, no reason to be ashamed."

Cheena smiled, "I guess you're right. I'm just being silly." Both stared into each other's eyes for a minute and then Cheena stood up, "Well I better go get my parents and head home before it gets too late. See you tomorrow, Kakarot."

"See you, Cheena." Kakarot said.

Later that night as Kakarot was laying in bed half asleep he thought about the little kiss Cheena gave him. He touched the spot on his cheek where she kissed him and he couldn't help but smile, "Cheena…"

**Authors Note:** I know it's been a long transition since the whole arc with Angelica. But the next story arc really begins in the next chapter and I think you all will really enjoy it.


	40. Chapter 40

"Hey Cheena…" Kakarot whispered. "What is the answer to number one?"

Cheena sighed, "Come on Kakarot, surely you can do one problem by yourself."

Kakarot looked like a sad puppy, "You know I'm bad at math."

Mrs. Lavender looked over at Kakarot and Cheena, "No talking you two."

Then there was a knock at the classroom door. Mrs. Lavender opened the door and smiled at the young lady who stood there.

"You must be the new student I was told about. Please come in dear and introduce yourself." Mrs. Lavender said sweetly.

Through the doorway came a young with black hair that reached down to the bottom of her ears, she had crystal blue eyes that seemed almost supernatural in their gleam. And her pale skin really complimented the rest of her beautiful appearance.

Kakarot stared at her and blushed, "She's pretty…" He said in awe at her angelic appearance.

Cheena jerked her head at Kakarot and mumbled, "She doesn't look at all that great."

"What are you kidding?" Kakarot said in a dazed tone.

"Students, this our new classmate. Dear, would you please introduce yourself." Mrs. Lavender asked.

The new girl looked directly at Kakarot and smiled softly, "Saiya Diamond. I'm 8 years old."

She immediately made her way down an aisle of desk and took the empty seat behind Kakarot.

Kakarot gulped nervously and turned around to greet Saiya, "Hi, Saiya! My name is Kakarot and this is my cousin Cheena. And these two are our friends Kyle and Phillip."

Saiya smiled again, "It's nice to meet all of you."

Once everyone returned to working on their math assignment, Saiya stared at the back of Kakarot's neck and licked her lips, "It's especially nice to meet you, Kakarot." She thought to herself.

Later at lunch Kakarot invited Saiya to eat with him and his friends. She accepted the invitation politely.

"Hey guys, Saiya is going to have lunch with us." He said with a smile.

Cheena just frowned and growled slightly under her breath. Kakarot pulled a seat out for Saiya to sit in.

"So where are you from, Saiya?" Kyle asked.

"Oh no where special, just a small town in the north western country side. I got bored and wanted to experience the city so I decided to attend school here." Saiya answered. She looked at Phillip who she noticed had been staring at her for sometime now. "Is there something on my face?" She asked.

"Now I know!" Phillip suddenly said. "You're Saiya Diamond! The prodigy singer I've read about. You were taking lessons and the master song writer Marcus Valler took you on as a student. You're performances are simply beautiful."

Saiya blushed, "Why thank you. I'm flattered you know of my work. In fact I'm having a concert in town this weekend and would love it if you all attended as my personal guests."

"Really!" Kakarot said happily.

"Of course." She giggled. "We are friends now after all. Only the best for my friends."

The week seemed to go by fast and the weekend was upon them. Kakarot, Cheena, Kyle, and Phillip all had V.I.P seats at the concert. It wasn't what Kakarot was expecting though, the concert was being held in a theatre inside an opera house.

"I thought concerts were a lot less fancy than this?" Kakarot asked openly.

Phillip sighed, "Kakarot, this isn't a rock or pop concert. Saiya is an opera singer."

"What's opera?" Kakarot asked with a confused expression.

"Just wait and see and you'll find out first hand soon." Phillip told him.

Kyle noticed Cheena seemed mad about something so he asked, "Are you okay, Cheena?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She mumbled.

Kakarot was surprised by her tone, "Cheena…"

"Just shut up!" Cheena commanded angrily.

Kakarot jerked back at her outburst, "I'm sorry…" He said nervously.

Phillip looked at his friends and said, "Listen guys, we can talk about this later. Saiya is coming on stage."

As the angelic young singer was walking out on stage, Piccolo stood outside a glass window on the ceiling of the building. From there he was able to peer inside and keep and eye on Kakarot and Cheena.

"I've been keeping an eye on those two all week and so far nothing suspicious has happened. I'm starting to wonder if that man in the hood was lying about there being other people after Kakarot and Cheena." The annoyed namekian thought out loud.

His ears immediately picked up on the song the young lady on stage began singing.

(Note: I'm not great with describing songs. But basically if you look up "Blood + Diva's Song" on you tube, then that is the type of song I had in mind.)

Everyone in the audience was amazed at the angelic voice of the young girl. Kakarot paid very close attention to Saya. Cheena kept a close eye on Kakarot's reaction to the song and noticed something weird was happening to him. His eyes became dazed like he was in a trance. Without any warning he stood up on the edge of the V.I.P balcony they were sitting in, and he jumped off landing in the aisle between the rows of seats at the bottom. He began to walk slowly toward the stage and Saya took notice but continued to sing like she wasn't surprised by his behavior at all.

In the seats toward one of the distant corners of the room there were five men in brown hoods that were not like the man who had visited Goten and Roza days earlier.

"The audience is distracted by the boy. Now is our chance." One of the hooded strangers said to his comrades.

With lightning fast speed they were all on stage and had Saya surrounded. One of the strangers materialized a sword out of thin air and came toward Saya ready to strike her down.


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the long wait everyone. College has been keeping me busy but I've managed to catch a break for now. I am really sorry about the long wait. I hope you all can forgive me. So now I'll shut up and get right to the chapter. Enjoy everyone.

"KAKAROT MOVE!" Cheena shouted from above.

Kyle's eyes widened, "It's too late! They're both goners!"

Piccolo bursts from the glass window above and grab Saya and Kakarot, safely getting them out of the way.

Cheena jumped from the balcony without even thinking that her friends would find it weird how she and Kakarot could jump from such heights without any injury. Cheena was immediately next to Kakarot, "Kakarot, are you okay!?"

The young boy's eyes flickered and the dazed look that once clouded his eyes had disappeared. "Cheena? What happened?"

Cheena smiled in relief that Kakarot was fine, but her expression quickly turned into one of anger as she looked at Saya. "What did you do to him?"

Saya simply gave her an innocent smile. Cheena became annoyed and grabbed her by the neck, "ANSWER ME!" She demanded.

Kakarot slapped Cheena's hands away from Saya and looked at Cheena in angry shock, "What is your problem!? You can't just go trying to choke people like that!"

Cheena was annoyed at Kakarot, "You idiot! She did something to you when she was singing!"

The two saiyan cousins had their attention drawn to the stage where Piccolo stood ready to engage the five hooded strangers in battle.

"Look lets talk later. Right now we have some fighting to do. Lets get our friends out here first." Kakarot told her.

Kakarot grabbed Saya and they jumped back up to the balcony to get Phillip and Kyle.

Kyle looked at Kakarot confusingly, "Mind telling me what the heck is the deal with you and Cheena?"

"It's just a little argument. We'll clear it up later!" Kakarot answered.

"Not that! We want to know how you two were able to jump from this high up without injury and how you were able to jump back up here like it was nothing!" Phillip explained.

"Oh that. Look, we'll tell you guys later, I promise. But right now we need to get you guys to safety!" Cheena told them.

Kakarot nodded in agreement, "Right, let's go!"

Cheena glared at Saya who was being carried on Kakarot's back. "We're going to save her too?" Cheena mocked.

Kakarot glared at Cheena, "Stop it, Cheena! She's our friend so of course we're going to save her!"

"She's also the one those creeps are after!" Cheena argued.

"Even more reason to save her then!" Kakarot argued back becoming more annoyed with Cheena's attitude.

Cheena sighed and gave up, "Fine! But I want answers when this is over. Got it, Saya?"

Saya nodded and smiled innocently again without saying a word.

As the crowd was frantically running for the exit, Piccolo stood on stage surrounded by the group of five hooded strangers. He removed his weighted training clothes and took his fighting stance.

"What are you?" One of the strangers asked.

"I'm not exactly from around here. I come from a little planet called Namek." Piccolo explained. "Now it's your turn. Tell me who you guys are and what you want with the kids."

"We only want the girl called Saya. We do not wish to harm the other children and for that matter we have no desire to harm you." Another stranger stated.

Piccolo smirked, "Yeah I bet. We're already aware that you guys are after Kakarot and Cheena. Someone told on you."

"Enough of this nonsense! We've come for the girl and that is all!" Said the stranger who seemed to be the leader. "Take him while I get Saya!" The leader ordered his followers.

Piccolo was surrounded on all sides by four of the strangers and unable to stop the leader. Kakarot sensed the presence of the leader behind him and like a reflex fired a ki blast which the leader simply knocked away. The leader tried to grab Saya but Kakarot fought back to defend her. Having little choice the leader swung his blade with swift speed creating a large cut across Kakarot's left arm.

Kakarot jumped back and grunted in pain, "No fair! He should use his fist to fight! Not some sword!"

Kakarot couldn't fight like this, not when he had to carry Saya like this. Kakarot turned to Phillip and threw Saya at him. Phillip caught her in his arms and nodded, "I understand." Phillip told him.

Cheena began to run with her friends while Kakarot stood ready to fight the leader.

"So tell me your name." Kakarot demanded.

The leader sighed, "Not that it matters, but if you have to know, my name is Seth."

"My name is Kakarot." Kakarot responded.

Seth sighed again and gave the young saiyan a warning, "Kakarot, stand down please. I have no intention of hurting you. I just want Saya."

"Why?" Kakarot asked.

Seth thought over whether it was wise to tell Kakarot the truth, "Well Kakarot…." He began. "I don't feel obliged to tell you!" Seth finished speaking and then attempted another strike at Kakarot.

Once again Kakarot dodged and started rapidly firing ki blast at his opponent. When the dust settled Seth emerged unharmed.

"You've got potential, boy. However, you lack experience and as such your skills have yet to be sharpened." Seth mocked.

"Perhaps he does, but you'll find I have more than enough experience." Said a mysterious voice.

The source of the voice was revealed as man with a blade of energy extending from his hand came seemingly and swung his energy blade at Seth.

Seth parried the man's attack and grunted angrily at his foe, "Marcus Valler! I should have known that little witch would have brought her lap dog here."

Marcus scoffed at Seth, "Big words coming from a mere lab rat like yourself."

Seth was infuriated at the insult, "HOW DARE YOU!"

Marcus smirked, "What a fool." And in a blinding flash of energy Seth was knocked aside like a fly.

Seth grunted in pain and frustration, "Damn you! This isn't over!"

Seth vanished in a shadow stream of smoke and his four followers quickly did the same.

Marcus looked at Kakarot and without a smile he said, "Thank you for protecting Saya." And with that Marcus took off into the air.

Kakarot sat there scratching his head, "What in the world just happened!?"

"You okay kid?" Piccolo asked as he landed next to the little saiyan.

Kakarot nodded, "Yeah I'm fine, but what are you doing here, Mr. Piccolo?"

Piccolo quickly thought of a lie since Gohan and Goten didn't want the kids to know the truth about the danger they were in. "I was meditating in the calm skies above the city when I sensed a disturbance coming for this building. So I decided to hang around and see what was wrong."

"Oh, well thank you." Kakarot said with a family Son family grin.

Piccolo motioned at Kakarot's injury and said, "You should get that fixed."

Kakarot looked at the massive cut on his arm, "That stupid jerk!" Kakarot said angrily.

Cheena, Phillip, and Kyle came back inside the opera house and Kakarot immediately noticed Saya was missing, "Where's Saya!?" He asked.

Cheena sighed, "Don't worry. That teacher she has….Marcus or whatever his name is showed up and she went with him. Of course she only left after Marcus told her that you were okay."

Kakarot sighed in relief, "Thank goodness she's okay."

Cheena flinched in annoyance and was about to say something when Phillip interrupted. "Wait a minute! You two need to tell us what you are exactly!"

Piccolo grunted at Phillip, "Watch your mouth. They don't have to explain anything to you."

Cheena shook her head, "It's fine Piccolo. They would have found out eventually anyways."

Kakarot stood up and looked at Cheena. They nodded in unspoken agreement and wiggled their tails out of their pants as they began to explain.


	42. Chapter 42

Kakarot took a deep breath and finished his explanation with a summary, "So basically we're human and alien hybrids. Our alien side is a warrior race called the Saiyans and that's why we have super strength and stuff. Also our saiyan blood is why we have tails like a monkey. Our family and friends have saved the universe plenty of times."

Needless to say Phillip and Kyle were speechless. Both boys were stunned and weren't sure how to take this new information regarding their friends.

Kakarot and Cheena were becoming worried by their silence. Kakarot sighed sorrowfully, "You guys think that we're freaks don't you?"

Kyle shook his head, "That's not it. It's just a lot to take in. I mean half an hour ago we didn't even known aliens exist and now we find out two of our friends are part alien."

Phillip nodded, "Right, but that doesn't make you any less our friends. So what if you're part aliens, you're still people."

Kyle smiled, "Besides it's kind of cool having a couple of aliens as friends."

Cheena's eyes were starting to water, "Thanks guys. You're the best."

Kakarot scratched the back of his head, "Sorry for not telling you the truth sooner."

Phillip smiled back at Kakarot, "Oh don't worry about it. We totally understand why you couldn't bring it up earlier. I'm sure you have to keep it a secret as much as possible."

"So now that we have that on the table, maybe you guys would like to come over for a visit at our house? Our family wont have to hide the truth now." Cheena offered.

Both of the boys smiled and Kyle answered, "Sounds fun!"

"And Saya can come over too!" Kakarot added.

Cheena grunted, "Sure, that sounds wonderful." She said in angry sarcasm.

Kakarot sighed, "Cheena, why don't you like her? She's a nice person."

Cheena looked at Kakarot and explained, "You don't know enough about her to trust her. Those guys in the hooded robes were after her for some reason. Plus her teacher was pretty strong. There is more to her than we know."

"I'm sure she'll explain all of it to us Monday morning at school." Kakarot said in defense of Saya.

Cheena snapped in anger at Kakarot, "You're so STUPID! You can't just be so trusting of someone just because she's cute! You act like she's already your girlfriend or something!?"

Kakarot reacted in anger and soon would regret his words, "Well maybe she will be MY GIRLFRIEND SOON!" He yelled.

Cheena was taken back by what he said. Her eyes filled with tears and she pushed him down onto the floor and shouted, "FINE! LIKE I CARE!" And with that she took flight to the skies.

Kyle grunted in anger and punched Kakarot in the face, "You are so stupid!"

Kakarot didn't respond in anger. He just sighed and floated into the air, "Yeah, I know. I'll see you guys Monday at school. I need to talk to Cheena and apologize." With that the young saiyan took off to find Cheena.

Phillip sighed, "Jeez such drama." He turned and looked at Piccolo, "So um what are you supposed to be sir?"

Piccolo quickly explained, "I'm an alien too. I'm a Namekian and good friends with their family. The name is Piccolo."

"So I guess you can fly too, Mr. Piccolo sir?" Phillip asked nervously.

"Yes? Why?" Piccolo asked in response.

Phillip smiled nervously, "We kind of need a ride home."

"Oh um…" Piccolo sighed in annoyance, "Sure why not."

Kakarot followed her energy signal all the way to their home. Kakarot landed outside his Uncle Gohan's home and knocked on the door. When it opened a very angry Gohan stood waiting. Without another second passing Gohan's fist was firmly pressed into his nephew's cheek.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" Gohan asked angrily.

Kakarot rubbed his cheek, "You know, I'm really getting tired of people trying to break my freaking jaw."

Gohan ignored the boy's comment and repeated, "Why did Cheena come home crying!? What did you do to her!?"

"You have the ability to speaking via telepathy, right? I'm sure Piccolo has already told you about the fight." Kakarot asked.

"Of course, but that still doesn't answer my question!" Gohan was getting impatient with the young saiyan hybrid.

Kakarot stood up and answered, "We had an argument. I got mad at her and I shouldn't have. I just want to apologize to her."

Videl stepped outside and said, "Gohan, let him go talk to her. It's not like you and I didn't ever fight. This is normal and just like us they need to sit down and talk about it."

Kakarot was confused by what his Aunt Videl was suggesting. Videl and Gohan were married after all so their fights shouldn't be the same as the ones he and Cheena have.

"She's in her room." Videl told her nephew.

Kakarot rushed upstairs and gently knocked on her door, "Cheena, it's me Kakarot. Can I come in?"

"Go away!" Cheena yelled.

Kakarot looked down, "Cheena, please just let me apologize. I didn't mean to hurt you." And almost as soon as those words escaped his lips he broke down crying. "Oh God what have I done!? I hurt you! I made you cry!" Kakarot was so angry at himself. His anger swelled more and more until his was gripping his head so hard that his scalp began to bleed. "I'm horrible! I can't believe I let myself get so upset that I made you cry!"

Cheena could hear the painful tone in his voice and she couldn't take it anymore. She walked to her door and opened it to see Kakarot on his knees gripping his still bleeding head as tear streamed down his face. Cheena kneeled down in front of him and gently pulled his arms down so he would stop hurting himself.

Kakarot looked into her eyes and apologized over and over again until Cheena put her hand over his mouth. "Okay, that's enough." She said gently. "You're sorry. I'm sorry I overreacted. I've not been very reasonable lately and I'm sorry for that. Let's just put it behind us. We're a team, remember? No point in letting this mess up things between us, right?"

Kakarot dried his tears and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." He said with a weak smile.

Cheena happily sighed, "I said stop apologizing. Besides I'm sleepy."

Kakarot nodded, "I should get home too. My parents are probably worried."

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay." Cheena told him.

The two cousins went their separate ways and Cheena found herself in bed thinking over the rush of emotions she felt at the theatre. One emotion in particular consumed her thoughts. "I was jealous of Saya about Kakarot. I didn't want her to take him away from me…but why?"


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry i've not been updating my stories as often as I should have, but i've had a busy semester at college. This week is finals so i'll be busy all week. Then after this week i'll have a whole month off that I can work on my stories so expect updates much more often after this week. The good news is that i've had plenty of time to map out the plot for this story in my head. So i just have to put those ideas in to type from now on for this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thank you for being so patient with me.

Monday morning Cheena and Kakarot walked into their classroom and they immediately looked at Saya. The hybrids took their seats, but Kakarot whispered to Saya before he sat down, "We need to talk at lunch."

As soon as the class let out for lunch Kakarot and his friends followed Saya into the hallway and Cheena wasted no time in asking, "So who were those people that were after you? Why were they after you? And just what are you?"

Kakarot looked at Cheena and said, "Calm down, Cheena. Give her a chance to answer one question at a time."

Saya sighed depressingly and nervously answered, "You really want to know who I am?" She looked as though she was about to cry. "Please don't make me answer!" She pleaded.

Kakarot held Saya's hand and assured her, "Listen Saya, whatever it is I promise we won't get mad at you. And if it will help, Cheena and I aren't normal either. We're part human and part alien." He confessed.

Saya smiled gently at his sweet attempts to comfort her, "I know already. I could smell your the scent of your blood. Demons have a keen ability of sensing things about people's blood." She confessed.

Kakarot, Cheena, Phillip, and Kyle were all stunned by her confession and the five kids were silent fora minute or two before Kakarot spoke up, "So you're a demon. Well big deal. You still have a heart and a soul, so you're still a person and our friend. Right?" He asked his friends and all of them nodded in agreement, even Cheena.

Saya looked down, "Actually i'm half demon and half human."

"Why do you still look so sad? We're not mad at you." Kakarot said truthfully.

A few tears escaped her eyes and she explained, "Everyone who has found out that i'm part demon has done cruel things to me. You can't imagine the things people have done to me."

Cheena was really starting to feel sorry for her and disgusted that she had treated Saya so bad. "Saya, you live with your tutor, Marcus Viller, because you're family rejected you, right?" Cheena figured.

Saya flinched as a series of painful memories flashed in her mind, "Not exactly. My mother was a demon. I never knew her because she abandoned me as a baby. My father took me in. He was human. My daddy was so sweet to me, but his family hated me. They wanted my daddy to kill me when I was just 3 years old. He refused and when he tried to run away with me, they killed my daddy right in front of me. Amshel was a friend of my dad's and saved me from them." She couldn't continue with her story, it was too painful for her.

Needless to say all of her friends were horrified at her story. "I'm so sorry, Saya. I hate to keep asking questions, but were those guys after you because you are half demon?" Cheena asked.

Saya turned to her and nodded, "Yes. They're demon hunters. They belong to an organization that have hunted demons for centuries. Since i'm half demon and half human, I represent the crossing of the universe and the demon realm. Therefore i'm an abomination to them. Not that i can blame them. After all demons aren't exactly the nicest of creatures. But it's not my fault that I was born half demon."

Kakarot smiled, "Well don't worry, we'll protect you. If they try to come after you then we'll fight to keep you safe. Right Cheena?"

Cheena nodded in agreement, "Of course! Having the blood of a warrior race in our veins makes us the perfect bodyguards for you."

Kyle and Phillip were also all in to help Saya, "We're just ordinary humans, but we'll help any way we can."

Kakarot smiled at his friends, "Well you two won't be ordinary for long. Cheena and I can train you guys. You don't have to be a saiyan to learn how to control energy and fly."

"Really!?" Kyle asked.

"That's right! You two will get the hang of it in no time!" Kakarot told them.

Saya smiled at her new friends, "Thank you all so much! How about you all come to my house this friday for dinner?"

Cheena accepted the invitation for everyone, "That would be awesome! Make sure to cook a lot of food because saiyans have big appetites!"

Saya laughed, "Of course! I can't wait!"


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's Note:** I finished my final exams nd i'm happy to report that I passed all my classes! Now onto what you all really came for lol. I'm going to try and update my stories a lot during my break. I'll be off until January 17th, so hopefully I can get a good amount of work done on these stories. So now i present you chapter 44! Enjoy and review everyone!

That Friday Kakarot woke up, as he normally did, with the smell of breakfast in the air. His tail perked up to show his excitement, "I smell bacon and eggs!" He said to himself happily.

The little hybrid saiyan jumped out of bed and rushed into the shower. Once he finished his shower he jumped out of the shower and charged up enough ki to dry himself without the need for a towel. "Alright now, let's see what I should wear for dinner at Saya's tonight."

Kakarot walked outside of the bathroom in the nude and crossed back over into his room, where unbeknownst to him Cheena was waiting to head off to school with him. "Good morning, Kaka….OH MY GOD!" She blushed a deep red and quickly covered her eyes.

Kakarot was confused, "What!?"

"You're naked!" She pointed out the obvious.

"And the problem with that is?" Kakarot asked.

"Are you nuts!? You don't walk around naked!" She told him.

Kakarot sighed, "Cheena, it's no big deal. Grandpa goes around naked when he takes a bath too!"

"Well grandpa was raised in the wild! He had an excuse!" She argued.

Kakarot rolled his eyes, "Don't be such an Earth girl, Cheena! We used to take baths all the time and you never complained about being naked then!"

She sighed, "Kakarot, we were babies back then! It's a little different now."

"Oh whatever! You're just being silly." Kakarot slipped a pair of boxers on, along with his pants and shirt. "I'm not naked, you can look now."

Cheena slowly opened her eyes, "You're crazy, you know that?"

Kakarot nodded and grin, "Would you have me any other way?"

"No, I guess not. I like you just the way you are." She answered truthfully.

Kakarot got up in her face and grinned, "You think i'm sexy."

Cheena blushed, "NO I DON'T!"

Kakarot backed off in surprise at her loud response, "Woah okay! It was just a joke. Relax Cheena."

"Sorry…" She looked down in embarrassment.

Kakarot smiled and began to walk out of the room so he could get some breakfast. "Well for the record….I think you're pretty." Then he ran downstairs, leaving Cheena blushing even more on the bed.

"That idiot…" She whispered to herself and smiled.

Kakarot stopped at the bottom of the stairs and whispered to himself, "No….I think you're beautiful." He quickly shook off the mushy feelings inside of him and ran to the kitchen for his breakfast.

Once breakfast was finished Kakarot looked at his parents and said, "Oh I won't be home for dinner. Cheena and I are going over to Saya's house for dinner tonight."

Goten and Roza looked at each other with concern and then looked at Kakarot, "Kakarot, I don't know if we known enough about that girl to let you go to her house yet. I think maybe you should just wait until we talk to her some more." Goten explained.

Kakarot sighed, "Oh come on. You guys worry too much. Look, she is a really nice girl."

"Maybe she is, but we need to just know more about her. Now don't argue, Kakarot." Roza told him.

Kakarot grunted in annoyance, "Oh alright."

"Good, now you should hurry on to school." Goten told his son.

Kakarot and Cheena took off for school, and Roza turned to Goten and said, "You know he's going to go to Saya's house for dinner anyway, right?"

"I know." Goten sighed. "He's my son. He's bound to be a little rule breaker." Goten smiled. "But Piccolo can keep an eye on the kids." Goten assured Roza.

Roza looked worried, "I hope you're right. I hate that things have become so complicated with the kid's safety."

Goten put his arms around Roza, "I know, baby. I know. We just have to do the best we can."

School went by fast today and the kids followed Saya to her mansion that was located in the center of thick forest.

"Well this is home." Saya said with a smile as they landed.

Phillip and Kyle got off of Kakarot and Cheena's backs respectively. "Thanks guys, we need to learn to fly ourselves though next time." Kyle said with a smile.

"This place is so beautiful, Saya." Cheena said as she took in the scenery.

The mansion was in fact an old Vaux-leVicomte style Chateau. There was a reflection pool in front of it and a flower garden behind it. There was also the dense forest that surrounded the estate.

Saya opened the front doors and invited her friends in, "Please make yourselves at home. Dinner should be cooking as we speak."

Kakarot smiled and his eyes glimmered with excitement at the luxurious inside of the mansion. "Holy cow, Saya! This place must have cost a fortune!"

"Amshel's family has been in the music business for generations. They have been performers, collectors, and so on in music. They've accumulated a bit of wealth because of it." Saya explained. "You guys can explore the mansion to your liking until dinner is ready. Just don't go into the room at the far end of the west wing."


	45. Chapter 45

Cheena took off from her friends as soon as Saya gave them permission to explore the mansion. Despite Saya's explanation of her past Cheena still didn't trust her.

"That night she sung a song and Kakarot became hypnotized. And then that smiled she gave me when I asked her what she did to him, something was wrong about that whole situation. I have to find out more about her. I don't trust her." Cheena said to herself as she headed directly to the west wing.

At the farthest end of the west wing Cheena found a giant old door. "This must be the room that Saya said not to enter. Something inside may give me a clue as to what she's hiding." Cheena figured.

She turned the door knob, but found the door was locked, "Darn it!" She grunted in frustration. "Let's see….Oh I got an idea!" She pulled a hair clip out of her pocket and bent it to try and form a lock pick. It took her a few attempts, but she finally was able to unlock the door. "Excellent! Now let's see what Saya is hiding."

Cheena turned the door nervously and was surprised at what she saw in the room, "Nothing!? It's just an old dusty room. Why would she want to keep this place hidden?"

Cheena immediately went to look for the obvious: a lever that would reveal a secret passage. "There has to be one around here somewhere." She looked and looked, but her search came up empty. "I've looked everywhere in here and there is absolutely nothing." The young girl sighed in defeat, "Oh well, I guess I might as well head back downstairs. Dinner will be ready soon."

She walked over to an old mirror in the room to make sure she didn't have any dust on her clothes. Staring into the mirror she began to wonder, "What if…." She touched the mirror and the glass rippled like water. "What the heck!?" She touched the mirror again and her hand went into it. She gulped nervously and jumped into the mirror.

On the other side she found herself in what appeared to be an old underground labyrinth. "I knew she was hiding something!" Cheena turned around and saw a mirror behind her, "Well at least I know I have a way to get back to the mansion. I'm already in the the thick of this now, so I might as well keep going forward."

Meanwhile Kakarot was out in the gardens and came upon a tree bearing odd looking purple fruit, "What is this stuff?" The little saiyan pulled one of the fruits off the tree and took a sniff of it, "Kind of smells like a peach!" He took a bite of the fruit and smiled, "But it taste kind of like a apple and a little like a grape!"

"You like it?" Saya asked as she approached her new friend.

Kakarot turned around and smiled, "Yeah! Where did you find such a tasty fruit?"

"It's grown in the demon realm. Most people in the universe wouldn't like it. You must be pretty unique to like the Lemu Fruit." She answered.

Kakarot took another bite, "So it's called the Lemu Fruit. Well I think it's yummy!"

Saya stared at Kakarot and asked, "You ever feel like you don't belong in this world?"

Kakarot's expression quickly turned serious, "Sometimes…" Kakarot sat on one of the stone benches near by and continued to answer, "Sometimes I feel like I'm not really meant to be on Earth. I feel like I should be kept away from people."

Saya looked concerned, "Have you ever told your family or friends about these feelings?" She sat next to him.

Kakarot shook his head, "No….I don't want anyone to be concerned about me. I don't want to burden people."

"Kakarot, you don't have to hide your true self." She told him.

"My true self?" He asked not sure what she meant.

"Like how you like that fruit, but most don't. Or how you are so strong." Saya explained.

Kakarot continued her list, "Or how i'm unstable, a ticking time bomb, a monster just waiting to be unleashed."

"What are you talking about?" Saya asked now really concerned.

Kakarot stood up and started to walk away, "It doesn't matter."

Once he was alone Kakarot began thinking a few things over, "I can't tell anyone how I feel, they would lock me away….I don't want to be locked away…."


End file.
